Secondary picture still sore and fuzzy

With so much injury uncertainty, the depth chart in the secondary remains murky.

But, as usual, Bears coach Lovie Smith's glass is half full, especially if, as hoped, all hands will be on deck Sunday.

"I think it's a good thing though because now we (could) have all of the players that we started training camp hoping would be on the field, (available) for our first game," Smith said. "That's a good thing. Players tell you who should start, who should dress. We have a pretty good idea of how we will play our players this week. We're confident they will play well, and we have a good group to choose from."

If Charles Tillman is cleared by the training staff, he will start, or at least play. If Zack Bowman gets the OK, he should start ahead of Trumaine McBride. At safety, Danieal Manning might not be ready to reclaim his starting job at free safety but could be eased back into the mix at nickel back. That would leave strong safety Kevin Payne still filling in at free safety, with rookie Al Afalava starting at strong safety. Manning also said he was hoping to reclaim his spot as the No. 1 kickoff returner, which he was unable to do in the preseason.

Friendly rivals: Quarterback Jay Cutler was asked if his intradivisional competition with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be different from the adversarial and contentious relationship he had with Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

"I think so," Cutler said. "Aaron's a friend of mine. I talked to him the last couple days, so I know he's excited for this one. I want to win this one, he wants to win this one, but after this game I wish him the best."

Numbers game: Rookie safety Al Afalava has switched his No. 46 jersey to No. 24, which formerly belonged to cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who was cut Sept. 5. Tight end Michael Gaines has traded in No. 85 for No. 86, last worn by Marty Booker in 2008.

Injury update: Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu (quadriceps) was limited at Thursday's practice, but defensive tackle Israel Idonije (hamstring), who was limited Wednesday, return to full activity.

The Bears reached an injury settlement with undrafted rookie safety Dahna Deleston, who had been on injured reserve (hamstring).