Devin Hester was a defensive back early in his career with the Bears before switching to receiver when the coaches saw what he could do with the ball in his hands. When coach Marc Trestman arrived this year, however, he said he wanted Hester to put all his energy into what he does best, returning kicks.
But Hester could get some time on defense this season. With cornerback Charles Tillman out for the regular season, slot cornerback Isaiah Frey nursing a broken right hand and safety Craig Steltz recovering from a concussion, the Chicago Tribune reports that Hester did positional work with the defensive backs for the first time all year this week.
Hester said he believes he can fill in on defense if he needed, but he doesn’t seem to think that’s likely.
“I think so, but we’re deep at DBs right now,” Hester said. “We have second and third options if anything go wrong with the guys that’s playing now. If push comes to shove, it’s fourth quarter, two minutes left in the game and we need to go any kind of coverage with me back there, I’ll do it.”
The Bears would prefer not to need Hester on defense, but if they suffer many more injuries in the secondary, they might.