Camp notes: Hester does some work on the side

Devin Hester did more than just stand around Saturday night at practice. He fielded some punts from the Jugs machine at the start of the session on the side. He was not in full uniform.

Maybe some of his standing around was productive though. He spent about five minutes chatting with general manager Jerry Angelo on the sideline.

He wasn’t just watching during team drills either. Hester walked to the offensive huddle to hear the call on a handful of plays, one of them a bubble screen to Rashied Davis off of a play fake.

“I really don’t know,’; he said after practice when asked about his situation. “I’m still in the process of negotiating and hopefully it’ll be done. Like I said, we’re close to it. Hopefully in time I’ll be out there.”

Hester is on the non-football injury list with a hamstring pull and is not expected to practice until he receives a new contract.

*** Kyle Orton looked better in practice after a rough go of it at times Friday.

*** Coach Lovie Smith praised rookie running back Matt Forte, who made a nice one-handed grab of a screen pass from Rex Grossman.

*** Brandon Lloyd continued to get open on his routes during the evening practice.