National Football League

Bears WR situation unsure going into 49ers game

Published Sep. 12, 2014 6:01 p.m. ET

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will not know who his options are at wide receiver for Sunday night's game with the San Francisco 49ers are until shortly before kickoff.

Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall didn't practice Friday after saying Thursday he expected to try to test his injured ankle.

Backup receiver Josh Morgan was downgraded to doubtful after missing a second straight practice with a groin injury.

Starting receiver Alshon Jeffery practiced Friday for the first time this week. He is questionable with a pulled hamstring.

''We'll see where we are closer to the game,'' coach Marc Trestman said. ''We've got up to 90 minutes before the game to make those decisions and we're going to use every minute of it to make sure we make the right decision in the best interests of the team, and certainly for the player.''

Marshall just jogged and went through the team's walk-through portion of practice, while Jeffery did participate in some of the plays that were run.

Jeffery had left Sunday's 23-20 loss to Buffalo shortly after the second half began.

''I feel pretty good,'' he said after Friday's practice. ''I mean, practice and the game are different. We'll see how I feel.''

Trestman said he has no overall policy about using a player who hasn't been able to practice during the week, calling it a ''player to player decision.''

''The No. 1 thing I want to be sure is that the player is healthy enough to play the game and can be safe out there,'' he said.

Without Marshall, Morgan and Jeffery doing much, Santonio Holmes has been the only wide receiver on the active roster who participated in most practices this week. Holmes didn't come to the team until the week before the third preseason game.

Practice squad players Josh Bellamy, Rashad Ross and Greg Herd worked with the first team and wide receiver Chris Williams was signed Wednesday after being cut at the end of preseason.

Bellamy had been with Washington last year and Kansas City in 2012, and with the Bears in preseason made seven catches for 140 yards.

''I recall that when he had some opportunities, he made some plays,'' Trestman said. ''The last game he made some plays, he showed some speed and did some good things.

''We'll see how this thing continues to progress, but he's been with us a long time, he knows the system.''

Coaches had Cutler working more with backups during training camp and preseason than he had in past years with the team.

''That was a smart move looking back on it, taking a lot of reps with those guys in training camp and even OTAs,'' Cutler said. ''I've got a good comfort level for what Josh Bellamy and Josh Morgan and all those guys can do physically, what they're good at, what routes they like, how they're coming out of cuts.

''So it's a good thing that we did that.''

The Bears' offensive line situation is clearer.

Center Roberto Garza and left guard Matt Slauson have been ruled out with ankle injuries after missing a full week of practice. Michael Ola will play left guard and Brian de la Puente center after both finished the loss to Buffalo at those positions.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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