Chester Taylor was back at practice Tuesday, confirming head coach Lovie Smith’s explanation of the case of the missing running back as just a “mistake.”
Many, including several players and Taylor himself, thought the Bears had cut the veteran back after a morning meeting with Coach Lovie Smith on Monday.

“I just took the words the wrong way. It was just a mistake,” Taylor said after Tuesday’s practice. “I don’t want to be released. I like it here in Chicago. I’m going to continue playing and see what happens.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz said “Yea, absolutely,” when asked whether Taylor would see some action in Thursday’s final preseason game against Cleveland.

L Brown cut by Saints
Alex Brown tweeted early on Tuesday that he had been cut by the New Orleans Saints. The former Bear was quickly a hot topic at Halas Hall.

“We like our guys we have right now,” Smith said, before adding: “But Alex Brown is a lifetime friend.”
Brown racked up 32 tackles and two sacks for the Saints last year. Brown, who was released by the Bears a little over a year ago, had six sacks as a Bear in 2009 and 43 1/2 regular-season sacks while playing in 127 consecutive games for Chicago.

Wootton hopes to be ready
Defensive end Corey Wootton, who had arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks after a great start to training camp, hopes to be ready by the season opener.

“That’s what I’m working toward, and that’s what the training staff is working toward,” Wootton said Tuesday. “Hopefully everything goes well and I’ll be able to contribute.”
He was originally expected to miss the first week or two of the season, but said he’s progressing quickly.

Who plays, and how long?
Smith and his coaching staff have decided who will play in Thursday’s preseason finale, and for how long. However, they are not letting anyone else in on the decision.

“Yes,” Smith replied, when asked if he’d determined who will play. “We have.”
That was the extent of it, though Martz did say that quarterback Jay Cutler will “probably not” play.

    
More cuts coming soon
The Bears released defensive lineman Vernon Gholston and four others on Monday, and there are more coming. They expect to make most of their cuts down to the regular-season max of 53 on Saturday.
“This is always a hard week because you know there’s going to be a handful of guys that are on the bubble that you’d really like to keep, and you can’t,” Martz said. “It’s a tough week, usually.”

Chester Taylor was back at practice Tuesday, confirming head coach Lovie Smith’s explanation of the case of the missing running back as just a “mistake.”
Many, including several players and Taylor himself, thought the Bears had cut the veteran back after a morning meeting with Coach Lovie Smith on Monday.

“I just took the words the wrong way. It was just a mistake,” Taylor said after Tuesday’s practice. “I don’t want to be released. I like it here in Chicago. I’m going to continue playing and see what happens.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz said “Yea, absolutely,” when asked whether Taylor would see some action in Thursday’s final preseason game against Cleveland.

L Brown cut by Saints
Alex Brown tweeted early on Tuesday that he had been cut by the New Orleans Saints. The former Bear was quickly a hot topic at Halas Hall.

“We like our guys we have right now,” Smith said, before adding: “But Alex Brown is a lifetime friend.”
Brown racked up 32 tackles and two sacks for the Saints last year. Brown, who was released by the Bears a little over a year ago, had six sacks as a Bear in 2009 and 43 1/2 regular-season sacks while playing in 127 consecutive games for Chicago.

Wootton hopes to be ready
Defensive end Corey Wootton, who had arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks after a great start to training camp, hopes to be ready by the season opener.

“That’s what I’m working toward, and that’s what the training staff is working toward,” Wootton said Tuesday. “Hopefully everything goes well and I’ll be able to contribute.”
He was originally expected to miss the first week or two of the season, but said he’s progressing quickly.

Who plays, and how long?
Smith and his coaching staff have decided who will play in Thursday’s preseason finale, and for how long. However, they are not letting anyone else in on the decision.

“Yes,” Smith replied, when asked if he’d determined who will play. “We have.”
That was the extent of it, though Martz did say that quarterback Jay Cutler will “probably not” play.

    
More cuts coming soon
The Bears released defensive lineman Vernon Gholston and four others on Monday, and there are more coming. They expect to make most of their cuts down to the regular-season max of 53 on Saturday.
“This is always a hard week because you know there’s going to be a handful of guys that are on the bubble that you’d really like to keep, and you can’t,” Martz said. “It’s a tough week, usually.”

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears backup tight end Desmond Clark indicated the knee injury he suffered in Saturday’s preseason game against Tennessee wasn’t as bad as it appeared to be, posting on Twitter that he’s confident he will return soon.

Clark left the field on a cart in the fourth quarter after taking a brutal hit to the left knee from Titans safety Anthony Smith while trying to make a catch. On Sunday, he posted on Twitter, “Took quite a shot out there but feeling confident I’ll be ok and back on the field soon.”

The was no update Sunday from the Bears on Clark or running back Marion Barber, who left with a calf injury in the first half.

Tennessee Titans 14, Chicago Bears 13

Preseason record: 1-2

Of interest: First, the good: I thought tailback Matt Forte continued his strong summer performance in carrying 17 times for 74 yards and a rare goal-to-goal touchdown. Quarterback Jay Cutler connected six times with receiver Earl Bennett, who if it were up to Cutler would be the Bears’ No. 1 receiver. Cutler also broke the ice with receiver Roy Williams, hitting a 17-yard pass on the offense’s first play. Finally, the Bears’ run defense looked pretty strong against a Titans team that was admittedly without tailback Chris Johnson. … Now, the other side: Cutler’s second pass, also intended for Williams, was intercepted. My first-blush reaction was that Williams shouldn’t be blamed, but he did say afterwards that he should have caught it. Regardless, the play won’t do much for the duo’s chemistry. The Bears defense had no interceptions and managed only one sack, by reserve defensive tackle Amobi Okoye. … Tailback Chester Taylor didn’t play after Forte departed and Marion Barber strained a calf. Are the Bears trying to keep him healthy for a potential trade? Or do they plan to release him and don’t want an injury to force them into an injury settlement?

Local coverage: Williams on the interception, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com: “The second one, that’s my fault, I still have to catch that one. I felt like it should have been a flag somewhere in there, but it’s the NFL. I got past that one, and go to the next play.” … In that same post, Cutler called Bennett “just a football player” and added: “We need a couple more of those in the locker room.” Hmmmm. … The Bears offense had 239 yards and had converted five of seven third downs by halftime, notes Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. … Coach Lovie Smith on why Taylor didn’t play, via Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com: “We wanted to take a look at someone else tonight, in particular, Kahlil Bell. Kahlil hadn’t gotten an opportunity to play much. We wanted to take a good look at him, [and] we were able to. I think he did a good job of taking advantage of the carries he got.” … The offensive line continues to improve, notes Dickerson. … The Bears have only one fully dependable receiver at this point in Bennett, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune. … Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com isn’t sweating the small stuff of the Bears’ preseason.

Up next: Thursday against Cleveland Browns

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Seventh-round draft pick Tommie Campbell returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown, and the Tennessee Titans rallied to beat the Chicago Bears 14-13 tonight.

The Titans (2-1) had trouble stopping Chicago (1-2) as the Bears outgained Tennessee 416-220. But the Titans came up with two interceptions, and the cornerback from Division II California (Pa.) picked off Caleb Hanie’s pass late in the third quarter and ran up the left sideline untouched to put Tennessee ahead to stay.

Chicago protected its quarterbacks well, allowing a lone sack when Hanie was taken down inside the final minute in a mark of improvement for the team that reached the NFC championship game last season.

Chicago’s Jay Cutler played one series into the third quarter and was 13 of 21 for 170 yards with his one interception coming on the opening drive. Matt Forte ran 17 times for 74 yards and a touchdown, but Marion Barber hurt his calf early and did not return. Tight end Desmond Clark was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a knee injury after being hit by Anthony Smith.

The Titans played with receiver Kenny Britt scratched for a third straight game as he recovers from a sore right hamstring, and Chris Johnson still holding out for a new contract. His backup, Javon Ringer, missed his second consecutive game because of a sore hip, and those absences really showed in the offense this time.

New Titans coach Mike Munchak even was booed for the first time when he chose to punt facing fourth-and-1 at his own 34 in the third quarter and trailing 14-10.

“We just weren’t playing smart, making some bad decisions,” Munchak said. “We couldn’t convert, and it’s hard to get going when you’re out there for a three-and-out three times.”

Matt Hasselbeck had been nearly perfect since signing with Tennessee, completing 12 of his first 15 passes over the first two exhibitions. Against the Bears, he was 12 of 22 for 134 yards as he played one series into the third quarter as well. Hasselbeck was the victim of a couple drops, but he completed 5 of 6 passes in driving the Titans 80 yards at the end of the first half.

Rookie Jamie Harper got his second straight start and scored his third TD this preseason on a 9-yard run to cap the drive.

It was Cutler’s first game as a pro in the city where he was the Southeastern Conference player of the year in 2005 playing for Vanderbilt.

“Well, we got better again,” Cutler said. “We left some points out there, you hate to see that but our offensive line played better, the receivers played better and Matt ran the ball. So, we’re getting there. We’re not quite ready for the opener but we’re getting there.”

Tennessee had a chance to turn safety Michael Griffin’s pick of Cutler’s tipped pass into points but had to settle for a 51-yard field-goal attempt, which Rob Bironas pushed wide right.

The Bears came right back. Cutler drove them down the field over 12 plays with Forte scoring from 3 yards out for a 7-0 lead. Robbie Gould also kicked a 45-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead but clanked a 29-yarder off the left upright in the second quarter.

The Bears kept moving the ball easily against a Titans defense that had allowed only 20 points combined through the first two exhibitions. Tennessee has a new coordinator in Jerry Gray with a unit revamped to put more size on the field. Forte ripped through the Titans almost at will.