Greg Olsen, who led the Bears with 60 receptions last year

Bears coach Lovie Smith has been impressed with Louis since he arrived last year as a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State.

"He's a powerful guy," Smith said. "He's a good knee-bender, has good speed and had great combine numbers. He can do all the things you're looking for. You can (have him) pull him outside, and he has enough power to block inside.

"He just needs reps, which he's getting. It's helping him a lot too, to go against our defensive line, which is pretty good. We've seen improvement in him, and he's steadily moving up the depth chart."

Earlier in camp, offensive line coach Mike Tice was asked about Louis, and he was already making a positive impression.

"He's very aggressive, he's big, he's strong, and he knocked people around pretty good," Tice said of Louis after an early practice. "For a guy that hasn't played a lot of football, he went out there and didn't show any fear, and he competed."

What a player: Tight end Greg Olsen, who led the Bears with 60 receptions last year, had been flying under the radar for most of training camp - until Sunday night.

Greg Olsen  was the star of the practice, catching a ridiculous 5 TD passes in the 7-on-7 red zone period.

"Sometimes that's just the way the balls end up going," Greg Olsen  said. "Whoever's open. Jay (Cutler) is not dropping back and picking his guys, he's following his progressions and throwing the ball where it has to go. Tonight was my turn.

Then, on the first play of 11-on-11 team work, Olsen streaked straight down the middle of the field and caught a pinpoint throw from Cutler. The pass split safeties Chris Harris and Craig Steltz, who had Olsen bracketed - but not closely enough.

"We've hit that a couple times so far in camp," Olsen said. "Those are the kind of big plays that we're looking forward to making this year."

Injury update: Rookie safety Major Wright (groin) returned to practice Sunday. Twelve players were out with an assortment of minor injuries: wide receivers Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Antonio Robinson, cornerback Josh Bullocks, safety Danieal Manning, running backs Brandon Minor and Harvey Unga, linebacker Brian Iwuh, center Tim Walter, defensive linemen Mark Anderson, Averill Spicer and Maurice Evans.

Cornerback Zack Bowman suffered what is believed to be a minor knee injury during practice and remained on the sideline for the duration.

Coming and going: Undrafted rookie quarterback Mike Teel was released Sunday, and Northwestern wide receiver Zeke Markshausen was signed to take his place on the roster.

Teel, No. 4 on the depth chart, had been sidelined since Aug. 4 with a hamstring injury.

That's just the way the balls end up going,'' Olsen said after practice. ''It's whoever is open. He's not dropping back and picking his guys. He's following the progressions and throwing it where it has to go, and tonight was my turn.''

Olsen and Desmond Clark have had dominant days, showing that tight ends can become a part of Mike Martz's offense.

''I see you guys talking to Greg. He had a great night," coach Lovie Smith said. ''I thought Jay threw the ball well. Offensively, we did some good things, got some good work down in the red zone.''

Olsen said he and his teammates were excited as soon as they saw the package at organized team activities.

''Our red-zone package is pretty impressive,'' he said. ''You get down in that area of the field, and we have to do better than last year. And in the couple of days we've done red zone, we've done pretty well.''

But Olsen wasn't done.

On the first play of 11-on-11, Olsen streaked down the field and hauled in a well-placed pass from Cutler, splitting safeties Craig Steltz and Chris Harris.

It would have been a 50-plus- yard touchdown.

''Yeah, we've hit that a couple of times so far in camp,'' Olsen said. ''It's just pretty much run straight down the field. We had two high safeties, and Jay threw a great ball down the middle, and we were able to connect.

''Those are the kind of big plays we're looking forward to making this year.''

Meanwhile, tight end Brandon Manumaleuna returned after missing some time with a right knee injury. He had the knee surgically repaired in the offseason, but he downplayed the injury earlier Sunday.

Manumaleuna was signed on the first day of free agency along with defensive end Julius Peppers and running back Chester Taylor. Manumaleuna, who received a five-year, $15 million contract that included $6 million in guarantees, played for Martz in St. Louis. He's known as a blocker.