Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert
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| | Tom Dahlin/Getty Images |
| | Devin Hester ended his brief holdout Friday morning. |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Barring a change of plans, the Chicago Bears' best playmaker will be on the field at 3 p.m. CT. Devin Hester, who said Wednesday he would be willing to sit out the rest of the season in a contract dispute, is here and ready to practice.
As of Friday morning, there are no indications that Hester and the team have agreed on a new contract. So what gives?
We expect to hear from the key players later, but the whole situation has been unusual: Hester stunned the team by failing to report to training camp Tuesday. That afternoon, he sounded angry and hurt in a series of interviews with Chicago-area media. If anything, he seemed dug in for a protracted ordeal. Three days later, in no less of a surprise, he is back in camp.
It's possible Hester needed a little ego massage after seeing linebacker Lance Briggs, defensive tackle Tommie Harris and linebacker Brian Urlacher all get contract extensions in front of him. The Bears have been trying to convince Hester he would get paid in due time -- but only if he reported to training camp.
Sometimes a holdout is an effective way of garnering a better contract. But in Hester's case, it's in his economic best interest to practice. Hester already is in line to establish a new precedent as a highly paid kick returner. But there is a limit to how much a team will give a special teams-only player. If he can transition smoothly to receiver, as the team plans, he could move into a more lucrative pay scale.
The only way Hester is going to be a good receiver, however, is by getting every training camp practice rep that he can. In this case, Hester has a better chance of making more money as a result of reporting than by continuing to hold out.
