Battle for Bears left guard spot still brewing

The anticipated battle between incumbent Josh Beekman and unrestricted free-agent Frank Omiyale for the left guard spot had yet to materialize - until Saturday.

Omiyale finally got to play with the starters after Beekman took almost all the reps with the ones through the first eight days of Bears training camp.

"(Saturday) was the first day, and it felt good," said Omiyale, who started just one game in a four-year apprenticeship with the Panthers but was considered a favorite to start for the Bears. "That has always been my goal, but I told coach (Lovie Smith) when I first got here, 'Whatever ya'll tell me to do that is what I'm going to do.' "

According to Smith, the competition will continue for another week until the preseason opener Saturday at Buffalo. Smith said coaches needed to see Omiyale with the starters in order to evaluate him against Beekman.

"The depth chart doesn't really mean a thing until the Buffalo game," Smith said.

Said Omiyale: "I don't know what tomorrow brings. I felt I did pretty decent. I felt good. I felt comfortable."

Happy ending: Corey Graham ended Saturday's practice with an interception of a Caleb Hanie pass.

"I was at nickel, the quarterback rolled out and he just threw it late inside and I was able to make a play on the ball," said Graham, who was moved from corner to safety in the off-season and then back to corner after Charles Tillman's back surgery.

"I've been close on a lot of plays this camp," he said. "I've been getting my hands on a lot of balls, but I haven't been able to make a lot of interceptions, so it was good to end it that way and finally make a play."

Graham played nickel Saturday with Danieal Manning out, but he's also getting some first-team reps at cornerback. Nate Vasher and Trumaine McBride have been the first-team cornerbacks with Tillman and Zack Bowman (hamstring) out.

Injury update: Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer (calf), safeties Danieal Manning (hamstring) and Dahna Deleston and cornerback Zack Bowman (hamstring) dressed for practice but were limited to light jogging. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (soreness) did less than that, continuing a trend that began at the start of camp.

"Tommie Harris will practice Monday," coach Lovie Smith said. "We've held him out a little bit. It will be good to get him back into the mix. Most of those guys will be ready to go at the first of the week."