If Bears' Carimi plays, it won't be in full-time role

After playing just six quarters of football in the NFL before suffering a partially dislocated knee cap in Week 2, rookie right tackle Gabe Carimi had already made a favorable impression on offensive line coach Mike Tice.

“Before he got hurt, I thought he was our best lineman,” Tice said. “So if he got back to that at any time, he is going to be back on the field.”

He's not there yet. He practiced Tuesday and Thursday but needed a day off Friday and is the only Bear on this week's injury report.

“Gabe put in a good day (Thursday),” coach Lovie Smith said. “His knee was a little sore, so we held him out of practice (Friday).”

After a seven-week absence, Carimi could be active Monday night against the Eagles, but he won't be in the starting lineup.

“It's going to take some good, hard practices and wear him down and get him some endurance in the leg and confidence in the leg,” Tice said. “Each day he's getting better, taking a lot of plays and also trying to see how he gets up in the morning and see if the leg swells up, see how he bounces back.”

Monday night would not be the ideal time to toss an iffy Carimi into the fray, considering he'd be matched up against Jason Babin, who's tied for third in the NFL with 9 sacks. But Carimi could see some spot duty in relief of Lance Louis.

“I try not to stick my head in the paper too much,” Tice said, “but I'm pretty sure you guys are saying all the same things that I'm thinking, ‘We're getting better, (and) you've got a guy coming off an extended period of time out, so why force it?'”

The much-maligned O-line has performed well the past two games after a shaky start. So the Bears will bring Carimi back slowly based on how he performs in the week leading up to game day.

“It's based entirely off of how confident I am (of the knee),” Carimi said, “and how well I play in practice.”

Waiting game: When Gabe Carimi returns at right tackle, coaches will have to decide whether to leave Chris Spencer at right guard or give the job back to Lance Louis, who moved from that spot to right tackle after Carimi was hurt.#8220;We'll worry about that when that happens,#8221; offensive line coach Mike Tice said. #8220;Right now, both guys (Spencer and Louis) are playing good football for us. Believe it or not, we've actually got some good problems. Who'd have thunk it?#8221; Ready for action: Monday night will be just the third NFL start for rookie free safety Chris Conte, so he's likely to be a target that the Eagles attack with big-play wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.#8220;If I'm Philadelphia and every other team, if you have a rookie back there, yeah, you want to check him out,#8221; Bears coach Lovie Smith said. #8220;Chris is planning on being tested, but the only way to have an opportunity to make plays is if you're tested. #8220;That's just a part of life at the safety position, and I think he'll be up to the challenge.#8221;#376;Follow Bob's Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.