After spending most of last week at home and missing Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers with an illness, Bears defensive end Jared Allen was back at Halas Hall Monday.
"It was good to see him in the building, good to see him in all the meetings," said coach Marc Trestman. "He got some work in the weight room. That's encouraging."
It's unclear whether Allen will be able to play in Sunday's road game against the Carolina Panthers. More will be known about his status Wednesday when the Bears return to the practice field and are required to release an injury report. For now, Allen is considered day-to-day.
Sitting out Sunday snapped Allen's streak of 113 consecutive starts, dating back to 2007 when he was suspended for the first two weeks of the season. Prior to this year, Allen had missed only one game with an injury/illness in 11 NFL seasons, and that came during his rookie year in 2004.
Without Allen, the Bears failed to generate a pass rush against the Packers, enabling Aaron Rodgers to pass for 302 yards and four touchdowns. But Trestman wasn't blaming the lackluster performance by the defensive line on Allen's absence.
"We're not making excuses for that," Trestman said. "Every team has injury issues this time of the season. The fact of the matter is we weren't able to have a sustainable rush. They were able to keep Aaron clean for the entire game."
