Bears DL Henry Melton close to full recovery

The Chicago Bears got some good news Wednesday. Defensive tackle Henry Melton participated in individual drills, the first time he’s done any type of practice since suffering a concussion in the Bears’ first preseason game, a 24-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“He did more today,” new Bears had coach Marc Trestman told ChicagoBears.com. “He’s out here working. He ran yesterday. He ran a little bit more today and we’re going to continually progress him. He’ll work out before the game tomorrow, so he’ll be working out every day through Monday and we’ll see where he is then.”

Trestman hopes that Melton is cleared by Monday and told reporters “all indications are he’s progressing that way.”

Even if Melton is cleared, the Bears still aren’t sure what his status will be for their opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 8.

“It’s a question mark,” Trestman said. “He’s still getting himself back into shape. He’s got four or five more days to do that and we’re working with him to try to get him up to speed. His number of reps could change due to his conditioning level a week from Sunday. But we’ve got some time and I certainly would know a little bit more Wednesday and Thursday of next week.”

Last season, Melton had 44 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles and was named to the Pro Bowl.