Vasher's season likely over

Don't expect to see cornerback Nate Vasher on the field for the remainder of the regular season.

Vasher was a Pro Bowl player in 2005, but he has struggled this season and missed three games in October with a thumb/wrist injury that required surgery on his right hand. He reinjured the thumb in the fourth quarter of last week's victory over the Rams and also suffered a fractured right hand.

Vasher will be replaced in the starting lineup by Corey Graham, who filled in as a starter the three weeks Vasher was out and then split reps with him against the Packers.

Despite starting just four games this season, Graham, a fifth-round draft choice in 2007 out of New Hampshire, is sixth on the Bears with 51 tackles.

"Corey's played a lot of football," coach Lovie Smith said. "We feel comfortable with him playing, as we do with (backup cornerback) Trumaine McBride, so we have a couple other guys that have played a little bit of ball. It's still hard when you lose your starter, a guy like Nate, but it's a long year; injuries happen."

Smith said Vasher's injury will not require surgery, but the coach was noncommittal when asked if it might land him on injured reserve, ending his season.

"Right now, all I can say is he's out, he's not playing this week," Smith said. "Whenever you have a fracture, and you reinjure the same hand that you had a little trouble with, you can go from there. I just know he's out now."

Even if Vasher misses the final five regular-season games, he could return for the playoffs as long he remains on the active roster and isn't placed on injured reserve.

A little changeup: Quarterback Kyle Orton put the overblown interest in the Wildcat formation in perspective.

"I think people make too big a deal of it," Orton said. "It's just another formation, just a different look you can give the defense and make them prepare for something. It's not rocket science by any means."

Against St. Louis, the Bears twice ran the gimmick, in which a player other than the quarterback lines up in the backfield and takes a direct snap from the center, for the first time. Devin Hester picked up 12 yards, and Matt Forte gained 4.

"It worked both times we did it," Orton said. "We have some great athletes that can get in the backfield, and (we) get them the ball and see what they can do with it."

Orton had never run from the formation before, and his role in it is limited.

"I go out there and stand around," he said.

The Bears don't call it "Wildcat," by the way. When Hester gets the ball it's called "Cane," as in the Miami Hurricanes, his college team. When Forte gets the call, the play is "Cajun," because he's from Louisiana and attended Tulane.

Medical watch: Wide receiver Marty Booker (knee), safety Mike Brown (calf), tight end Desmond Clark (knee) defensive tackle Tommie Harris (rest, knee) and linebacker Jamar Williams (groin) missed Wednesday's practice in addition to Nate Vasher.

All except Vasher are expected to play Sunday.