The Bears welcomed back some familiar faces on Tuesday, namingfour recent cuts to their five-man practice squad. LinebackerDarwin Ireland, wide receiver Fabien Bownes, guard Octus Polk andfullback Mike Faulkerson - all of whom were waived Sunday when theBears trimmed to the league-mandated 53-man roster limit - werere-signed Tuesday and will practice today.
The fifth member of the practice squad is Harrison Houston, awide receiver and kickoff-return specialist who was selected in thefifth round of the 1994 draft by the Atlanta Falcons and spent lastyear on their practice squad. Houston signed with Kansas City in theoffseason, but was waived.
A 5-9, 174-pounder, Houston finished his college career atFlorida with 1,781 receiving yards on 101 catches with 19 touchdowns.His 22.5 kickoff-return average (54 for 1,216 yards) is the best inschool history.
Practice-squad players are not part of the 53-man roster and cannot play in games unless activated . They are considered freeagents in that they can be signed at any time by another teamproviding that team has an opening on its 53-man roster. A playersigned off another team's practice squad must be on the active rosterfor at least three weeks.
The Bears have 11 players who spent time on practice squads ontheir 53-man roster, including tight end Keith Jennings andnickleback John Mangum.
MEANINGLESS GAMES: The Bears are downplaying their miserable1-3 preseason showing that included blowout losses to Cleveland andIndianapolis.
"Last year we won all our preseason games and we started out 1-2with two blowouts in the first three games, so evidently it didn'tmatter last year," linebacker Joe Cain said. "The only game we wonwas against Tampa Bay and we were lucky to win that one."
NOTES: Kevin Butler needs 12 points in Sunday's season openeragainst the Minnesota Vikings to score 500 career points in SoldierField. His 138 points against the Vikings are his most against anyNFL team. The Bears have won 10 of their last 11 season openers, including a10-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 1991.
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