--Neither SIU's Nick Hill nor Colorado State's Caleb Hanie impressed NFL teams enough to get drafted. But both showed the Bears enough to warrant free-agent contracts, and each has an opportunity to make the final roster or at least the practice squad. Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton are the only other quarterbacks on the roster, and the Bears haven't gone into a season in recent memory with less than three quarterbacks.

Both rookies struggled with their accuracy in last Friday's first day of the weekend rookie minicamp, but both were more accurate Saturday, when the Bears hopefuls were able to practice outside despite intermittent light rain.

"I thought the quarterbacks threw the ball better," coach Lovie Smith said "Both have a fairly good arms and both have played at a pretty high level. Both have good leadership ability and all that, and this is a great opportunity for them. We have two quarterbacks on our roster right now, so there's a good chance one of them will be our third quarterback. There's an opportunity, and they seem like they're going to make the most of it."

Hanie, a two-year starter who led the Mountain West Conference with a 144.6 passer rating last season by completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,455 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, has demonstrated a stronger arm than Hill, who also started two years, during which he threw 43 TD passes and just 11 interceptions.

--Fourth-round safety Craig Steltz picked off six passes last season and 11 in his college career. And at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and the LSU all-American also has enough size and strength to provide physical run support and an intimidating presence in the secondary like some of his favorite NFL safeties.

"(I like) guys like (Denver's) John Lynch and (Dallas') Roy Williams, guys who come up and hit," Steltz said. "And (the Bears') Mike Brown. That's three tremendous safeties that get to the ball and get to the ball in a bad mood. Good things happen when you get around the ball, whether it's an interception or it's a fumble recovery."

Steltz, who also forced three fumbles last season, is expected to be a leading contender for playing time at a position where the Bears have lots of depth but also plenty of questions because of Brown's injury history and other players' lack of experience.

--Cedric Benson was back at Halas Hall on Tuesday for the Bears' off-season workout program, as he has been for each of the voluntary sessions that began on April 7.

That was good news for Benson after a weekend of bad publicity that came with a late Saturday night arrest for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrests, Class B misdemeanors which each carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. Benson is disputing both charges, claiming that he was pepper sprayed and dragged ashore without cause.

Benson spoke with Bears coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo on Tuesday, but the Bears did not comment on those discussions or release any statements on their continuing investigation of the weekend incident, which occurred on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas.

Benson, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, has battled injuries and ineffectiveness throughout his NFL career, averaged a career-worst 3.4 yards per carry last season. He also suffered a fractured left ankle that ended his season five games early and which he is still rehabbing. Two weekends ago, the Bears used a second-round pick to draft Tulane running back Matt Forte, who could be the heir apparent to Benson.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I felt like our running game obviously was one of the weak spots on our football team." --Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo on the 2007 team.

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