Bears downplay Roquan Smith's hamstring tightness

Bears top pick Roquan Smith was held out of practice Tuesday with a left hamstring injury, according to coach Matt Nagy.

"He ended up having a little bit of tightness I guess in his left hamstring right on the side here," Nagy said following Tuesday's practice. "So there's just some tightness, so it's more precautionary than anything. That's exactly why we do what we do. If you put him in early and he's not ready, then something like this happens where it gets worse. So we just want to be precautionary with it."

Smith said earlier on Tuesday that he was preparing as if he'd make his Bears debut Saturday against the Chiefs.

"It's up to coach Nagy. If he feels like I'm ready, then I'll be out there. I'm just doing what I can, preparing like I would play."

Nagy said Smith, who did get some light work in on the side, "most likely" would've practiced if it were the regular season and could return Wednesday. Prior to his injury, the best guess was that the eighth overall draft pick would see some action at Soldier Field, but significantly less than other rookies who did not miss 29 days of practice in a contract dispute, as Smith did.

The only rookie who held out longer than Smith since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement included slotted rookie deals was Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, whose holdout lasted 31 days. In his first NFL practice upon signing, Bosa suffered a hamstring injury and wound up missing the first four games before turning in a Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign.

Smith, the Butkus Award winner had appeared to be in great shape, and he says he worked out diligently with his former strength and conditioning coaches at Georgia. But he admits his biggest hurdle will be stepping up his game to live action.

"I would say just being in football shape," Smith said. "You work out and do all the running you can, but it's nothing like football shape."

Teammates and coaches have praised Smith's football smarts and study habits, and he had the playbook on his iPad down in Georgia, so Smith isn't anticipating a steep learning curve once he's on the field.

"I think I'll be ready as far as the mental side of things," he said. "It's not that big of a challenge as what it could be because we ran a very complex defense at Georgia."

Picking up the slack

With OLB Leonard Floyd's availability and effectiveness for the start of the regular season compromised by the fractured hand he suffered in Saturday's preseason victory over the Broncos, the Bears could be short-handed in the pass-rush department.

"He's a key component to this defense," ILB Danny Trevathan said. "He adds fuel to us; he adds that fire on the edge. We're missing him right now, but I'm sure he'll be back pretty soon. We've just got to pick up the slack over there where Leonard fell off, and we've got some good guys, so we should be all right over there."

One possibility is 6-foot-6, 270-pound fifth-year veteran OLB Aaron Lynch, who hasn't practiced since suffering a hamstring injury in the first training-camp practice. Lynch had 12.5 sacks in his first two seasons but just 2.5 in the next two.

"Big body," Trevathan said. "Good dude. He's been in the system for a while. He knows how to use his hands, how to play his space, (he's) good on the edge, good in coverage. We know how well he can play, we just want him to go out and execute and get healthy and stay the whole season (and) add more fire to this defense."

Just part of the game

When it comes to trash talking, rookie WR Anthony Miller is a player who can dish it out and take it just as well, but only when it's the right time.

"When it's appropriate," he said. "That's part of the game. They're going to talk smack. I've got a little smack talk in my toolbox, too. So that's just going to come out. But I have to stay focused at the end of the day, stay focused on what I have to do each day."

Upon further review

Nagy confirmed Tuesday that further tests revealed TE Adam Shaheen suffered damage to his right foot in addition to his sprained lower ankle Saturday night in Denver. Although he remains hopeful the injury to his second-year tight end isn't serious, Nagy wouldn't offer a timetable for Shaheen's potential return.

Shaheen had put together an impressive camp prior to suffering the injury Saturday night on a five-yard catch. The Bears now figure to rely more on reserves Ben Braunecker and Daniel Brown, who each have been productive this preseason, behind starter Trey Burton in Shaheen's absence.

• Bob LeGere is a senior writer at Pro Football Weekly. Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere or @PFWeekly.