Jeffery, White already ahead of 2015 pace

By the second quarter of Thursday night's preseason opener, starting wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White were on the sidelines, but they had already played one more quarter than they did in last year's preseason.

Jeffery (calf) missed all four 2015 exhibition games, and White (shin surgery) missed his entire rookie season. Each had 1 catch vs. the Broncos, Jeffery for 12 yards, White for 3 on a screen.

"It's nice to have (No.) 17," quarterback Jay Cutler said of Jeffery, who had been limited for the previous 10 days with a hamstring injury. "He didn't get to play as much (Thursday), but we'll definitely try to highlight him as we go through this.

"I wasn't really sure if he was going to go or not. But he wants to be out there with us. He has an energy. He has something about him this year, which is exciting for us."

White gives Cutler another big, fast target capable of stretching defenses.

"He's an explosive guy," Cutler said. "As you can see, he's a physical specimen. (We want to) find ways to get him the ball in space and let him catch and run and use that speed and that burst he's got."

Even though it was just a preseason opener, Jeffery felt it was important to play, but not because his durability has been questioned.

"I was feeling good, plus I missed all preseason last year, so getting timing down with Jay and jelling with the offense (was important)," Jeffery said. "I don't know what's being said on the outside. I don't really read up on too much of that. Just play football."

Centers of attention:

Because of the season-ending knee injury to center Hroniss Grasu, Ted Larsen snapped the ball for quarterback Jay Cutler for the first time in a game situation.

"It was smooth," Cutler said. "He's a pro. He's a vet. He's been there; he's done it. It was like riding a bike for him. He hopped in there."

Rookie Cody Whitehair started at left guard and played part of the second quarter at center, where he's now a backup in the middle because of the Grasu injury. It was not a great debut at center for the second-round pick, who was called for holding and also flagged for a hands-to-the-face penalty.

"That's a lot to ask for a rookie learning a new offense," coach John Fox said of Whitehair's double duty. "But those are learning experiences and good lessons."

Speeding it up:

First-round draft pick Leonard Floyd was credited with 2 tackles at outside linebacker but no sacks or quarterback hurries.

"I made a couple plays backside, I think that probably was my highlight of the day," he said. "I tried to get my rush going. We were talking throughout the whole game on different types of rushes I could use, and we're going to look at film and see how I can do the rushes better. It's definitely a faster game than college."

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