Even though we’re entering the final month of the regular season, the Bears got their first look at their first-rounder yesterday.
Via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com, Bears wide receiver Kevin White took part in individual drills in practice yesterday, his first work in a team setting since the offseason program.
“I’m itching to play,” White said. “If I wasn’t itching to play, I wouldn’t be out there.
“It’s really important. If it wasn’t important I would be in the training room, I would just tell [General Manager] Ryan Pace or [coach] John Fox to put me in injured reserve. But I want to play.”
The Bears started the three-week window for White to practice the week of Thanksgiving, and have until Dec. 15 to decide whether to activate him or put him on IR. He’s been out since August after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left shin, in which a rod was inserted to stabilize his tibia.
“He’s improving. He’s on target,” Bears head coach John Fox said. “We’ve got a three-week window, which you know; we just take one day at a time.”
The Bears have hung around, and have some degree of chance at the playoffs at 5-6. And because they think White can make an immediate impact whenever he’s well, they’re waiting as long as they can to decide what to do with him. If they’re still pertinent in a few weeks, and think he’s close, activating him remains a possibility.