ESPN

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- It’s impossible to predict if wide receiver Marquess Wilson will land on the Chicago Bears' final 53-man roster after the way his college career unraveled at Washington State.

Wilson quit the team last year and accused Cougars head coach Mike Leach of abuse, a story he eventually recanted.

But the damage was done.

Wilson’s decision to walk away from Washington State for the final three games of 2012 and the subsequent controversy with Leach overshadowed what been a productive college career. The wideout posted back-to-back seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards in 2010 and 2011, catching a career-best 82 balls for 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns his sophomore season.

Wilson made 52 catches for 813 yards and five touchdowns last year before he pulled the plug. He still left Washington State as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,207, the ninth-most in Pac-12 history.

Wilson had 14 100-yard games.

From a pure talent standpoint, Wilson deserved to be drafted higher, but his stock plummeted for obvious reasons.

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The Chicago Bears signed WR Brittan Golden on Friday to a reserve/future contract.

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The Chicago Bears have released fullback Tyler Clutts and receiver Brittan Golden on Friday, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Golden, an undrafted rookie, returned a blocked punt 22 yards for a touchdown in the Bears' win over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.

"Well I got released today it was a long road," Golden tweeted. "Chicago thanks for the love it was an honor to be here. thanks for the memories."

Final roster cuts are being made Friday.

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler discussed on Monday the "hard case" the team would face near the end of camp if it decided to cut second-year receiver Dane Sanzenbacher or return man Eric Weems.

At this point, another of those cases just might be undrafted rookie receiver Brittan Golden of West Texas A&M.

"He's doing a good job," Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake said. "He's showing up, and that's what you want to do as a young player: have someone notice you. He's being noticed."

How? He's making plays at every opportunity. During the club's live periods early in camp, Golden consistently caught the ball while stringing together a few impressive moves to evade tacklers.

"Oh yeah, he's fast," special teams coach Dave toube said. "We're gonna get a look at him at returner (Thursday against Denver). He may get punt returns; definitely kick return. He's still working on his catching skills. But in the third and fourth quarter of the preseason game we'll get him in there. He's pretty exciting after the catch. He can run. You can see that out here at practice."


The problem, however, is the Bears might not have the numbers at the position with so many slots already pretty much locked up. Brandon Marshall, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Alshon Jeffery and Weems appear to have the top five spots secured, and it's important to remember the Bears actually finished the 2011 regular season with just five receivers on the 53-man roster.

So if the club decides to go heavy on the position and keep six receivers, Golden, Sanzenbacher and recently re-signed Rashied Davis will likely be in contention for that final spot on the roster. Brittan certainly appears to be a candidate for the practice squad. But if Golden plays well in the preseason, the Bears might have reservations about putting him on the practice squad because another team might swoop in and grab him.

Obviously, Davis has earned the trust of Toub while Sanzenbacher holds the edge over Golden by virtue of experience. So Golden needs to turn heads on special teams to unseat some of the veterans. It won't be easy.

"I think it all comes down to special teams play and how guys shine and don't in their special teams, and what their roles are gonna be," Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice said. "But that's for coach (Lovie) Smith to make those decisions. They're going to get a lot of plays (in the preseason) as we know. We'll let the powers that be evaluate that and make that decision."

At West Texas A&M, Golden ranked second in school history in receiving yards (3,007) and fifth in receptions (165), catching 33 touchdown passes, which tied him for sixth in school history in career scoring. Golden racked up 3,393 career all-purpose yards, which included 30 punt returns for 274 yards and 10 kickoff returns for 112 yards.

So clearly, Golden has plenty of experience on special teams, and the opportunity of a lifetime despite the receiver's coach not knowing his name.

"Golden Brittan is a guy that does some things," Drake said. "They all have a chance to impress, get in there in the preseason and see where it takes them."

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- The rotation at left tackle remained the same Sunday with J'Marcus Webb taking the bulk of repetitions at left tackle and Chris Williams backing up Gabe Carimi at right tackle.

It appears the Chicago Bears plan to go into Thursday’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos with Webb in the starting lineup. That’s expected, considering offensive coordinator Mike Tice has said Webb would receive the first shot at the job by virtue of the fact he finished 2011 as the starter.

Here are some more quick-hitting observations from Sunday’s practice at Olivet Nazarene University:

Rookie Alshon Jeffery made the most acrobatic catch of the session when he reached over the back of cornerback Tim Jennings to make a leaping one-handed grab.

Rookie Evan Rodriguez took snaps with the starters during team when the Bears operated out of a double tight end formation that also featured Matt Spaeth.

Second-year veteran Chris Conte made a leaping interception on a pass from Jay Cutler intended for Brandon Marshall. The shotgun snap rolled on the ground before reaching Cutler, who rushed out the throw.

Rookie Isaiah Frey tipped a pass from Josh McCown to Terriun Crump before coming down with the interception.

Undrafted rookie Brittan Golden repped with the second team Sunday because of an injury to Earl Bennett and Devin Thomas' retirement announcement, and made several clutch catches. After practice Golden continued to work on the field with fellow rookies Joe Anderson, Chris Summers and quarterback Matt Blanchard.