A half hour into his first practice of training camp Sunday, Devin Hester got behind cornerback Charles Tillman and hauled in a 40-yard pass from quarterback Rex Grossman.
It's the type of thing the Chicago Bears are hoping to see a lot during the regular season after signing Hester to a four-year contract extension, reportedly worth up to $40 million.
"I think the Bears have a lot of faith in me, and they feel that I do a lot of things on the offensive side of the ball, so they rewarded me,"
said Hester, who in two seasons is two touchdown returns short of Brian Mitchell's record of 13 kick or punt returns touchdowns -- a mark that took 14 years to set.
In other developments
Favre a no-show: Brett Favre didn't report to the Green Bay Packers' training camp Sunday, temporarily easing tensions in the three-time Most Valuable Player's ongoing standoff with the team.
Favre told si.com that Packers general manager Ted Thompson had asked him for "a couple of days"
to resolve the situation.
"I agreed to do that,"
Favre told the site. "I don't want to be a distraction to the Packers, and I hope in the next few days we can come to an agreement that would allow me to continue playing football."
That agreement, presumably, would be a trade. The New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have emerged as two potential trade partners for the Packers, and Favre told si.com that he would consider a trade to any team.
Bengals' Johnson on board: Wide receiver Chad Johnson had nothing to say when he reported for training camp in Georgetown, Ky., ending the Cincinnati Bengals' offseason drama with a pillow under his arm and a leave-me-alone look on his face.
By showing up on time and without complaint, the Pro Bowl receiver brought his teammates some relief from his failed attempts to get traded. They were glad that Johnson was no longer a hot issue.
"I think it's water under the bridge,"
said receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, one of Johnson's closest friends on the team.
Johnson has three years left on his contract, which was reworked in April 2006 and brought him an additional $10.75 million. The Bengals turned down a trade offer from Washington before the draft, signifying their insistence that Johnson wasn't going anywhere no matter how much he complained.
Briefly: Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel is day-to-day with a mild hamstring strain. Samuel was hurt while working in 7-on-7 drills during the team's first practice in full pads this summer. He had an MRI on the injured right hamstring Sunday. ... Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata was carted off the field with an injured right leg after getting caught in a pileup during a full-contact drill. "We don't think it's serious, but we've got to find out as we go,"
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. ... Detroit Lions linebacker Ernie Sims missed Sunday's afternoon practice with injuries to his right leg. Sims, the team's leading tackler the last two seasons, said he "landed funny"
during a morning drill but walked off the field after the practice session ended.
Pittsburgh rookie wide receiver Limas Sweed signed a four-year contract, putting all the Steelers' draft picks under contract as training camp started.
