No timetable yet for Kyle Long's return

BOURBONNAIS - As expected, right guard Kyle Long (strained left calf) did not practice Friday, although when observed at lunch seemed to be moving more comfortably in his protective walking boot.

The Bears will be conservative with Long, and he could be out for a while, although coach John Fox categorized him as "day-to-day."

"I don't put time frames because I don't know, and so I can't tell you," Fox said. "It was mentioned that he's in a boot; well that kind of helps facilitate the healing of a calf strain."

Veteran ted Larsen took Long's place at right guard.

First-round pick Leonard Floyd (illness) also did not practice, although he had hoped to do so after leaving Thursday's practice early.

Other players who did not practice included tight end Khari Lee (shoulder), offensive lineman Nick Bechton (illness), linebacker Roy Robertson-Harris (illness). During practice, cornerback Brandon Boykin suffered a strained chest and nose tackle Terry Williams had a shoulder strain. Cornerback Bryce Callahan, wide receiver Josh Bellamy and defensive lineman Ego Ferguson all cramped up in excessively humid conditions and temperatures in the 80s that were higher than expected.

Not good enough:

Alshon Jeffery says there isn't any competition between himself and 2015 first-round draft pick Kevin White, but they are motivated.

"We want to be the best receiving group in the league," said Jeffery, who knows they have to get a lot better in the eyes of their demanding taskmaster, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson.

"Our coach would tell us, we're a long way away," Jeffery said, "but we just have to keep getting better, trusting the process.

"CJ's a tough coach, but he's a great coach. He's going to bring out the best in us. He's going to stay on top of us for any little thing, whatever it takes. 'Just keep grinding,' he always says. 'Stay focused no matter what.'

"If you make a great play, it still don't matter to him, he's still coaching."

Getting noticed:

Wide receiver Daniel Braverman, the 5-foot-10, 177-pound seventh-round pick from Western Michigan, made several impressive receptions and runs after catches Friday.

"He's a guy who was very productive in college, our scouting department really liked him, and that's why we drafted him," Fox said. "He caught our eyes as far as putting it all together in the off-season, and he's continued on that so far this camp."

Braverman caught 109 passes for 1,377 yards and 13 touchdowns for Western Michigan last season.

Room for improvement: Jeremy Langford is the designated heir to Matt Forte's No. 1 spot at running back, but he'll have to do better than the 3.6 yards he averaged on 148 carries as a rookie last year if he wants to hold off challenges from Ka'Deem Carey and rookie Jordan Howard.

He said his off-season priorities were "making the safety miss a little better and getting those yard after contact." Coming and going:

Backup punter Ben LeCompte, who attended Barrington High School, was released to make room for offensive tackle Dan Buchholz, who was an offensive tackle at Duqesne but can play center as well.

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