Is Sunday Briggs' last game with Bears?
Free-agent-to-be linebacker Lance Briggs says he will play Sunday despite a hip injury that sidelined him last week and limited him in practice Wednesday. But he didn't want to dwell on the probability that the game might be his last as a Bear.
"I don't know and we don't know," said Briggs, who was voted to his third straight Pro Bowl last week. "Nobody knows what's going to happen. There is a lot of time in the off-season for all that to be figured out. It could be (my last game).
"Then again, I could be sad right now and back in this locker room again next year."
The Arizona product was replaced last week by Jamar Williams, a fourth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2006. Briggs was jokingly asked if he wanted to get back on the field to hold off Williams.
"Why would you want to hold anybody back?" Briggs said. "This game is for guys who can play the game. You want everyone to succeed. To have a guy like Jamar, to me he is a phenomenal player.
"It's unfortunate he went to Arizona State. Other than that, great guy."
Sophomore slump: Defensive end Mark Anderson burst onto the NFL scene with 12 sacks as a rookie last season, when he said he played with a chip on his shoulder because he wasn't drafted until the fifth round.
Anderson, who was placed on injured reserve last week with a knee injury, said that chip will be back next season as he tries to rebound from a discouraging second season.
After getting 4 sacks in the first four games, the starting right end had just 1 the rest of the way.
"Other teams had a little chance to scheme on me with chip blocks from running backs and tight ends (in addition to an offensive tackle)," Anderson said. "I should have played it a little better. I should have studied a little better to find a way around it."
That's special: Punter Brad Maynard was named NFC special-teams player of the week after battling harsh conditions (minus-18 wind chill, snow and strong winds) to average 35.0 yards per punt with a 33.0-yard net average and landing one of 4 punts inside the 20-yard line against Green Bay.
It was Maynard's first award in his 11-year NFL career but the fourth this season for the Bears, the other three by return specialist Devin Hester.
Injury update: Wide receiver Bernard Berrian (knee), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), offensive tackle Fred Miller (ankle) and cornerback Nate Vasher (groin) all missed practice Wednesday. Linebacker Lance Briggs (hip), quarterback Rex Grossman (knee) and defensive tackle Darwin Walker (elbow) were limited.
Coach Lovie Smith hopes to have all of them available Sunday, except Vasher, who appears doubtful.
Late promotion: Tight end Fontel Mines was added to the active roster from the practice squad. The 6-foot-4, 244-pound Mines, an undrafted free agent out of Virginia, finished his college career with 68 receptions for 737 yards and 5 touchdowns.