Deja vu all over again for Bears' Wolfe

Whether 5-foot-7 running back Garrett Wolfe makes it through the final cuts today and returns for a fourth season with the Bears or not, he figures he's done pretty well.

"At this point in my life, I've accomplished more than anybody would have ever given me credit for," Wolfe said. "I remember being in college (Northern Illinois University) and people saying, 'There's no place for him in our league.' But I've played three years in this league of extremely large humans, and, being a small guy, I think I've done all right for myself thus far."

Wolfe was never able to carve out more than a specialty niche in the Bears' offense, although he did have 22 carries for 120 yards and a 5.5-yard average in the first eight games last season before a lacerated kidney ended his season. And, although he had never really been used in coverage on special teams, Wolfe led the Bears in 2008 with 21 special-teams tackles, and he had 9 last year before the injury.

Matt Forte and Chester Taylor will get the vast majority of the touches in the Bears' backfield this season, but Wolfe hopes his value on special teams might be enough to give him a fourth year in the league. If the Bears decide to keep just three running backs, the final spot will go to Wolfe or Kahlil Bell.

After Thursday night's preseason finale, Wolfe admitted he was apprehensive about the upcoming cuts.

"Being a competitor and understanding the game of professional football, you always worry because they're bringing new guys in every year," Wolfe said. "It's a very competitive league, it's the most competitive sport there is, period. The average career I think is 2 years, something along those lines, so, and being an undersized guy you always have to be cognizant of what's going on around you because I'm a 'specialty player,' and (I) have to be in an offense that can use a guy like myself and also play special teams."

This isn't the first time Wolfe's career has hung in the balance.

"I remember in Year Two (2008), everybody was saying that I would be gone," he said. "But hopefully this will be Year Four. If everything that people wrote about me was true, I'd probably be dead or in jail by now, and I'm still here."

For now.

Defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert was feeling less confident after Thursday's game, even though he had a sack for the second straight week.

High draft picks like Gilbert, who was snagged in the third round last year, usually are given time to develop. But the Bears have a full house on the defensive line, and with finals cuts due at 5 p.m., Gilbert was leery.

There's a chance the Bears could keep eight d-linemen this year, rather than the nine they kept last year, and that would mean trouble for Gilbert.

"You're always nervous," said the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Gilbert, who contributed little last year while appearing briefly in just four games. "We'll see. You definitely worry about it, but hopefully I did enough."