Hall steps up for Chicago Bears

Cornerback Deiondre Hall, the fourth-round pick from Northern Iowa, tied for the team lead in Thursday night's Chicago Bears preseason opener with 5 tackles and had 2 pass breakups on plays on which he appeared to be beaten.

He earned more playing time going forward, and he will get even more during three days of practice with the New England Patriots and in the second preseason game because of the absence of starter Kyle Fuller.

The nagging knee injury that has dogged Fuller since the off-season flared up again and will keep the 2014 first-round draft pick from making the trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts.

"He's been fighting through some knee soreness," coach John Fox said. "We're going to leave him back (in Chicago) for further evaluation."

The rangy, 6-foot-2, 201-pound Hall took first-team reps during Sunday's practice at Halas Hall with Fuller and backup corner/nickel back Bryce Callahan sidelined by soreness.

His future play will determine how soon he contributes.

"They determine that," Fox said. "You give them opportunities and see how they perform. In his first test, he earned more time and we'll see where that takes us."

Small reunion:

Players will get a chance to see former teammates Martellus Bennett and Shea McClellin during the three days of joint practices with the Patriots.

Bennett, a Pro Bowler with the Bears in 2014, fell so far out of favor last season that he was traded, along with a sixth-round pick for a fourth-round choice.

"I'll say hi to Marty, see how he's doing," said Bears tight end Zach Miller. "I probably won't get to see him much because I'll be (practicing against) their defense and he'll be on the other field, but I'll probably pop in and say hi."

If so, Miller probably will be the only one.

Long way to go:

Fourth-round draft pick Nick Kwiatkoski (hamstring) is back at practice, but the linebacker is limited to individual work and has a lot of catching up to do.

"The more you do it, the better you get," coach John Fox said. "So any missed time is problematic. He's a guy who's not (100 percent) healthy. He's getting closer; he's healing.

"Time heals. So when he's deemed (healthy), he'll be out there."

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