For rookies, big stakes in last-chance game

Super Bowl-caliber teams like the Bears don't expect much immediate help from NFL rookies.

Other than tight end Greg Olsen, their first-round pick, none of this year's draft choices is likely to be an immediate impact player, which is fine in the Bears' case.

Successful teams have the luxury of bringing young players along slowly, using them in backup roles and letting them work their way into the lineup.

But first the rookies have to make it past the final cutdown to 53, which is Sunday, although the Bears' cuts could be made Saturday.

That means tonight's game against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field is the final chance for some draft picks and other players on the bubble to prove they deserve a job in the NFL.

Seventh-round pick Aaron Brant didn't survive the first wave of cuts, and there's no guarantee that all eight of the remaining draftees will be around next week. But the Bears have been extremely reluctant to part with players they've invested a pick on.

After missing all the spring practices and part of training camp with knee injuries, second-round defensive end Dan Bazuin has 1 of the team's 6 sacks. If he's not 100 percent, Bazuin is a candidate for the injured-reserve list, which means he wouldn't play this season.

He is hoping to be one of the 53.

"I definitely expect to be," he said, "but there's always a shadow of a doubt.

"At this point, my knee is well enough to play, but it's not 100 percent. I've gone back and forth with both the coaches and the training staff about that, and we're kind of taking it day to day, like we have done for all of training camp."

Third-round running back Garrett Wolfe also missed some training-camp practices with a hamstring injury. His 84 rushing yards lead the team, although his 3.0-yard average isn't exciting.

Linebacker Michael Okwo, taken one pick after Wolfe, missed spring practices while finishing the semester at Stanford. But Okwo is expected to find a place on the final 53, along with fourth-round guard Josh Beekman, fifth-round safety Kevin Payne and cornerbacks Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride, who were taken in the fifth and seventh rounds, respectively.

Graham and Payne, who has been nursing a rib injury, each have 1 of the Bears' 3 interceptions, as does undrafted rookie cornerback Tim Mixon.

"I like what the rest of the (draft picks) have been able to do," coach Lovie Smith said. "Bazuin has been behind a little bit because of his injury, but at the start of last week I thought he picked it up.

"Garrett was behind a little bit with the injury, but he's come back strong lately. Kevin Payne has had a big camp also, so we're expecting big things out of him.

"Michael Okwo was another one who was behind a little bit, and we like what he's done lately. And, of course, Trumaine McBride has been the rave of the camp.

"I think, when it's all said and done, we're going to really like this draft class like we like the rest of them."

So are they all safe from the final ax?

"It's hard to say safe," Smith said. "I like a lot of our veteran players here, too. So we'll put them all in that bin together and pick out 53."

Some veterans on the bubble include third-year defensive tackle Antonio Garay and fourth-year linebacker Darrell McClover.

"Everyone has one more opportunity to play a game," Garay said. "Everyone just has to make the best of the opportunity."

Backups will get a long look tonight, since the starters aren't expected to play more than a quarter. The only thing the starters want to come away with from tonight's game is their health.

For those players on the bubble, though, tonight could be the difference between another year in the league or another line of work.

If Bazuin is on the final roster, that would be nine defensive linemen, not including Garay, and it would be a surprise if they kept 10.

Linebacker is another position with a lot of depth, which puts McClover in a precarious position, despite his prowess as a special-teams player.

"I really can't think about that," McClover said. "I just go out there every day and do what I've been doing and just keep playing, keeping plugging away, keep working hard.

"That's the way the NFL works."