Chicago Bears' Cutler practicing patience with White

After Kevin White's disappointing debut, in which he was targeted seven times but had just 3 catches for 34 yards, the Chicago Bears are expecting more from the 2015 first-round draft pick.

But quarterback Jay Cutler said patience is key for White's development.

"You look at any young guy," Cutler said, "they're not going to walk in the door randomly and they're better. They're going to (have to) study, but most of the stuff is done on the football field.

"The more you can do out there, the more you experience things, the more reps you get, the really good ones, they figure it out pretty quickly."

White missed out on all that on-the-field experience in his rookie year after he had August surgery for shin splints and sat out the entire season.

That lack of game experience showed in the season opener when White turned inside on a route when Cutler expected him to go outside, resulting in an interception.

But the big-play potential that the 6-foot-3, 216-pound White brings to the party makes his growing pains worth weathering.

"We understand it's his first year playing," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. "There are going to be some bumps, but he's going to keep getting better every day.

"The thing we've preached to him is, '(Mistakes) are going to happen. When they do, don't make the same mistake twice.' Mistakes are part of the growth and the maturation process for him."

Loggains and Cutler both are aware that it will take time to get White up to speed, and there are things they can do to ease the journey.

"Just continue to make sure we're putting him in situations to be successful," Loggains said. "Make sure that we don't make the route tree too much for him and make sure that we're finding a good role in the offense for him as he continues to grow."

The Bears' playbook and the requirements they make of wide receivers are much more extensive than what White experienced in two years at West Virginia. His assignments were much simpler, and he usually lined up on the same side of the field for every snap.

"We're trying to keep his role as simple as possible and do things that he's very comfortable doing," Loggains said. "At West Virginia, the route tree wasn't big. So we're making sure that we put him in situations he's familiar with and comfortable with."

Putting White in those roles will allow him to play fast and react quickly, rather than thinking about what his assignments are. And anything that allows White to play to his 4.35 40-speed makes him dangerous.

"The biggest thing is, just give him a bunch of reps," Loggains said. "The thing that has probably hurt him the most is the injuries that hampered his growth in training camp."

Those nagging injuries continued in the week before the season opener, when White was limited at practice with a hamstring injury.

That may have affected his Week 1 performance, which included a dropped pass. The hope is that it didn't adversely affect his confidence.

"We've just got to watch it on tape and move on to the next play," White said of the interception. "We can't change what happened. We have to just get ready for the Eagles."

That's the attitude the Bears want to see from White, whose confidence may have taken a hit in his first game. But Loggains says it won't keep him down.

"Kevin is his worst critic," Loggains said. "He's hard on himself. He's a pleaser. He wants to play well for Jay. He wants to help alleviate some stress off Eddie (Royal) and Alshon (Jeffery) and Zach (Miller). He wants to make sure he's doing his role, and that's why we love the kid.

"That's why he's going to be a good player. He cares so much, and he wants to be good. He's staying extra (after practice), and he's working, and he's doing everything the right way."

• Kyle Fuller (knee) was limited at Saturday's practice and is questionable for Monday night's home opener against Philadelphia, but coach John Fox didn't sound hopeful when asked what Fuller needs to do to get back in the starting lineup.

"Just be healthy," Fox said. "He's still working through that. It's a process that he's done well with, maybe just not totally there yet."

Fuller missed the entire preseason and had arthroscopic surgery Aug. 18.

For the Texans, two starters, tight end Zach Ertz (rib) and cornerback Leodis McKelvin (hamstring), are out.

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