Williams signs 5-year contract

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Shaw Newspapers BOURBONNAIS - Chris Williams lived up to his draft-day pledge to not miss a day of training camp. Now comes the hard part for Williams, the Bears' first-round draft pick who agreed Wednesday to a five-year contract. Williams, who is guaranteed $9.5 million as part of the $16 million deal, has to prove he is a worthy starting candidate at left tackle. And soon. The first step came Wednesday afternoon, when Williams signed his contract and made it to Olivet Nazarene in time for the first practice of camp. “I think I have the mind-set to be ready, but [there's] a lot of hard work between now and the first regular-season game,” Williams said. “You can't miss days of practice, especially with me being a rookie. I didn't want to fall behind at all. Every day I get out here and get on the field is going to make me better.” As expected, Williams lined up with the second-team offense. John St. Clair, the versatile veteran, was the first-team left tackle. John Tait stayed at right tackle after switching from the left side during the past offseason. Although St. Clair is serviceable, the Bears drafted Williams with the idea of getting him into the mix immediately. But he still must prove himself. “You start from the bottom no matter who it is,” coach Lovie Smith said. “We haven't seen you. We don't know enough about you. You work your way up from there. Now, when you draft a player like Chris, you should have an idea what he should end up. [But] it's a contact sport. We've never seen Chris Williams in pads. So we have to at least see that and put him through some of those paces and go from there.” The Bears wore shorts Wednesday, so Williams' first fully-padded practice is yet to come. Hurting The Bears placed center Olin Kreutz (Achilles) and running back Kevin Jones (knee) on the preseason physically-unable-to-perform list, and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek (calf) and rookie guard Chester Adams (stomach) on the preseason non-football injury list. Kreutz recently underwent a procedure to remove scar tissue from his Achilles tendon. The Bears expect him to be back before long. “We're going to nurse him along, but the prognosis is good going forward,” general manager Jerry Angelo said. Dvoracek has played only one game in two pro seasons because of foot and knee injuries. He missed much of the offseason program with a sprained left hand and now is out with another ailment. Sights and sounds The first practice took place in ideal conditions - sunny skies and a temperature in the low 80s. The players wore shoulder pads and shorts, leaving the first full-contact practice in pads for another day. Second-year pro Josh Beekman was the first-team center in Kreutz' absence. Cornerback Charles Tillman was excused to attend to a family matter, giving Graham first-team repetitions. Graham got the nod over fellow second-year pro Trumaine McBride, the primary alternate last season when Vasher missed 12 games. Grossman and Booker teamed up several times to beat Graham, although Graham made a play on the ball to break up Grossman's throw to tight end Greg Olsen. Orton and rookie tight end Kellen Davis seemed to have a good thing going, teaming up twice for impressive plays over the middle. Davis is a good bet to make the team as the third tight end, although Fontel Mines might have something to say about that.