Hoge's Notes: Marshall Excused For 'Personal Reasons'
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) Brandon Marshall was not at Halas Hall Wednesday and will not be at Soldier Field for the Bears' preseason finale against the Browns Thursday.
The wide receiver has been excused for "personal reasons" by head coach Marc Trestman, who made it clear this was planned a while ago and had nothing to do with the comments he made Tuesday about feeling rushed back from offseason hip surgery.
"This was planned out, missed today for personal reasons," Trestman said. "We wanted to get him through practice and I let him go for personal reasons, but something that's been part of the plan, the offseason plan since we started training camp."
Pressed on the absence having anything to do with Marshall's hip, Trestman was quick to object.
"It's all good," he said. "As I've said when I've let guys go for personal reasons, I said it's all good and this one is all good. It's not reflected on anything other than I gave him time off."
That has been proved true by the head coach each time he has said that so far this season and with Marshall specifically, they have been giving him planned time off throughout the preseason. Trestman added that he thought Marshall had "a very good practice" Tuesday before the comments were made.
"He ran well, he ran his routes, he took his reps, he finished. So I can't speak for his comments. What I saw on the field was a guy getting ready to play."
And the Bears feel like they've seen enough from Marshall to know that he's ready.
"The night at Solider Field should have given an indication of where he's at in terms of getting ready to play," Trestman said, referring to the Bears' second preseason game when he had four catches and a touchdown against the Chargers.
Melton Should Be Back For Week 1
Trestman said all indications are that defensive tackle Henry Melton (concussion) will be fully cleared to practice by Monday. If not Monday, the head coach said it would be Wednesday following the off day.
Melton was cleared to begin his reconditioning work Monday and will maintain the workouts through the weekend while the team is off. At this point, it appears conditioning will be the only thing holding him back from playing a full game against the Bengals Week 1.
"It's a question mark," Trestman said. "He's still getting himself into shape. He's got four or five more days to do that and we're working with him trying to get him up to speed. His number of reps could change due to his conditioning level a week from Sunday."
Meanwhile, Earl Bennett was on the side field in a helmet and shoulder pads running some routes Wednesday, which means he has also been cleared to begin his reconditioning process. Trestman still referred to him as day-to-day.
Notables
- Trestman would not commit to whether or not rookies Jon Bostic, Kyle Long and Jordan Mills will play Thursday, but Bostic said the plan is for him to play.
- Undrafted free agent defensive tackle Zach Minter said he will start against the Browns and called the game a "final test".
- Offensive tackle Jonathan Scott (knee) did some side work Wednesday, while cornerback Zack Bowman (hamstring) and linebacker J.T. Thomas (hamstring) did not practice.
