Kyle Fuller: Watching brother Kendall in Super Bowl is ‘going to be cool’

ORLANDO, Fla. — Minutes before he took the field to play flag football with kids Friday, Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller recalled the way he started in the sport. He played flag, too — but never had any encounters with NFL players. Well, those who weren’t his brothers.

Defensive back Vincent Fuller, 10 years Kyle’s senior, played most of his 76 NFL games with the Titans. Wide receiver Corey Fuller, two years older than Kyle, played 28 games with the Lions.

Cornerback Kendall Fuller is the baby of the family, about three years younger than Kyle. He has played in 55 NFL games — with one more to go this season. He has started at cornerback for the Chiefs throughout the playoffs.

Kyle Fuller will fly into Miami the day before the Super Bowl to watch his brother. It will be the first time he has attended the big game in person. He said he’s allowed to wear Chiefs gear but probably won’t.

He didn’t go to the AFC title game but has checked in with his brother since.

“I called him the next day: ‘How did it feel? Did it hit you yet?’ ” Kyle Fuller said. “He could tell the difference, but it still hasn’t hit him yet. I’m sure it will once they get down to Miami — or even this week.”

Fuller said there’s no competitive jealousy. He’s rooting for his brother.

“It’s not like that,” he said. “He got there. It’s going to be cool.”

No kicks

The Bears’ Cordarrelle Patterson was voted into the Pro Bowl as a special-teamer, though the Saints’ Deonte Harris is the NFC’s return specialist.

Neither will return kicks Sunday during the game, though. The NFL eliminated kickoffs in the Pro Bowl six years ago. This week, the league presented an alternative to onside kicks: The team that scores can give its opponent the ball at the 25 or run a fourth-and-15 play from its 25 — and keep the ball if it converts.

Patterson still will cover punts but has taken practice snaps at receiver.

“I just go out there and go fit in, man,” he said this week. “That’s the thing, man — us specialists, we’re trying to change the game for a lot of us. We don’t get the recognition that we should. Special teams, that’s a big, big, big part of football. We change the field position.”

Does he feel like it’s going away?

“There’s always a new rule,” he said. “They’re trying to eliminate us, but we just have to keep showing up every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. And show them what we’re capable of.”

Camp change

Fuller can appreciate what the Bears will gain by moving training camp from Bourbonnais to a remodeled Halas Hall this year.

“The comfort,” he said. “Like in your home, having the [cold] tubs, just being familiar with things. . . . It was routine, something you got used to [in Bourbonnais]. We definitely appreciated being there, but it will be good to be back home.”

Fuller said he expects the players to stay in a hotel near Halas Hall. The Bears have yet to explain which days they’ll let fans into Halas Hall — and how many can come.

“It’ll be cool to see how they work it out at Halas and that campus,” Fuller said. “I’m pretty sure they’ll handle it the right way.”