Bears coach Matt Nagy excited to see what rookie WR Riley Ridley can do

The Bears’ preseason game Saturday will lack star power — neither they nor the Colts are playing their starters. But near the top of the list of players to watch will be the Bears’ 2019 fourth-round pick, wide receiver Riley Ridley.

“With Riley, he’s done a really good job of digesting everything,” coach Matt Nagy said after practice Thursday. “He knows what he’s doing. He has a great feel. When teams play zone coverage, he has a good feel of that. He has excellent ball skills, so that’s just showing up.”

Ridley played 47 percent of the Bears’ offensive plays against the Giants, catching three passes for 19 yards.

It was his first NFL game of any kind because he sat out the opener after hurting his hamstring in training camp.

“It was a bummer, him getting banged up a little bit there,” Nagy said. “I think he’s back on track. I’m excited to see what he can do.”

Hicks fine, Miller close?

Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday with what Nagy called a minor oblique injury.

He described Hicks’ absence as precautionary.

Nagy wouldn’t rule out wide receiver Anthony Miller, who is still recovering from a sprained ankle, returning to practice next week.

“We’re not going to rush anything, but I’m not concerned about him,” he said. “The biggest thing with Anthony is going to be just making sure that we as coaches don’t overload him with what he does.”

Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (shoulder) and offensive tackle Rashaad Coward (elbow) remained out.