Smith, Bears play it coy on Hester

Devin Hester didn't practice Wednesday, and he probably won't practice tomorrow, but even if he doesn't practice Friday, he could still return kicks on Sunday.

"If he's ready to go Sunday, he'll play," said coach Lovie Smith, who offered no information on Hester's rib injury. "Game time, if he's ready to go, he'll be on the field."

Chances are he won't be, although the Bears won't make that concession until Sunday so the Bucs can spend time worrying about how to defend the Pro Bowl return specialist.

On Wednesday, Bucs coach Jon Gruden wasn't sure how he would deal with Hester, if he plays, or even if Gruden would kick to him.

"That probably wouldn't be very smart on our part," Gruden said. "I've seen over the years this guy is very dangerous. We'll have to be very selective and be careful of how we kick to him. He's certainly one of the very best to ever play back there, so we'll have to be very careful and use real good judgment when we do kick to him."

If Hester needs a week to heal, Danieal Manning will handle kickoff returns and punts will be fielded by starting cornerback Nate Vasher or rookie wide receiver Earl Bennett, who has been inactive the first two weeks but was catching simulated punts from the Jugs machine after practice.

Second time around: Brandon McGowan's season-ending fractured ankle, which will require surgery this week, will give Danieal Manning another opportunity as the No. 1 nickel back. Manning lost the job to McGowan in the preseason, but now he's back.

"He's always been one of our guys," coach Lovie Smith said of Manning. "We're real comfortable with him playing. Danieal has played a lot of football around here."

Manning started 29 games at safety his first two years but lost the job to McGowan, who in turn was beaten out by Kevin Payne, who led the Bears with 13 tackles last week.

McGowan missed two games last season with an elbow injury, he ended the 2005 season on injured reserve following knee surgery, which caused him to start the 2006 season on the physically unable to perform list. In his first game back, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and spent the remainder of the season on injured reserve. Free safety Mike Brown missed 43 of 64 games the previous four years with injuries.

"History tells you guys will go down, especially, it seems like, at the safety position," Smith said. "So it's next guy up for us, and we feel lucky to have a player like Danieal ready to step in."

Backup cornerback Corey Graham could also be a nickel consideration. Another option is keeping strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer on the field in passing situations instead of replacing him with an extra defensive back.

Injury update: Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) was limited at practice Wednesday, and center Olin Kreutz was given the day off to rest. Both are expected to play Sunday.

Rookie offensive tackle Chris Williams, recovering from back surgery for a herniated disc, is able to participate in pre-practice warm-ups and stretching but isn't expected back on the field for another several weeks.