Bear WR Rashied Davis was signed and brought back to training camp with his former team in Bourbonnais, Ill., after the retirement of Devin Thomas, and it was thought he could provide the special teams presence he had during his first tour with the Bears.

However, the player Davis is battling, Dane Sanzenbacher, has been at least as prominent on special teams in preseason games if not more evident. Sanzenbacher has also displayed a much better ability than Davis to get open in the new offense.

Davis will need to show an obvious ability to contribute in a way Sanzenbacher can't -- on punt and kick coverage. Also on Sanzenbacher's side has been his ability to hang onto the ball. He tied Roy Williams for the team lead in dropping passes last year but has been solid most of camp and in games at holding the ball.

  • Nate Collins (DT, 3rd year, UFA in 2010 with NY Giants) -- It may come down to choosing whether to keep four or five DTs on the roster, depending on how many ends they keep. Collins used to play for the Giants and is returning to face them Friday night. He needs to make plays when he gets in to show the fifth DT is worth keeping. It almost becomes a battle between Collins and a player at a different position -- DEs Chauncey Davis or Thaddeus Gibson. They're not about to keep five ends and five tackles, and Israel Idonije's ability to slide inside to tackle works against keeping the fifth tackle. Collins needs to get into some gaps and into the backfield when the opportunity is there.
  • Jabara Williams (LB, 2nd year, 7th round pick in 2011 by St. Louis Rams) -- With Brian Urlacher's knee likely to be a question into the regular season and until he proves otherwise, a golden opportunity exists for former Ram Jabara Williams to win a roster spot. The Bears may need to keep one extra linebacker in case Urlacher is unable to play at times during the season. However, to date Williams has shown nothing largely due to a pulled hamstring suffered early in training camp. He was healthy enough to play in last week's game and will need to show better awareness against the pass to have a chance. Blake Constanzo and Geno Hayes are two of the backup linebackers and J.T. Thomas has probably shown enough to win the third backup spot. But a fourth spot might be there due to Urlacher's injury and Williams has to step up.
  • Ryan Quigley (P, 1st year, UFA from Boston College) -- Punter Ryan Quigley was automatically going to be a cut victim and was only supposed to be a camp leg to help out Adam Podlesh. But Podlesh's hip-pointer has made it possible an extra punter will be needed possibly for a few games into the regular season. Quigley was slated to punt against the Giants in what amounts to a chance to prove to the Bears they don't need to pursue a veteran stop-gap punter until Podlesh is available. More consistency and an ability to move the ball around better are what special teams coordinator Dave Toub need to see from Quigley.
  • Jonathan Wilhite (CB, 5th year, Bears are third NFL team in 5 years) -- The former Patriot and Bronco hasn't done much to capture attention, but hasn't been beaten badly often, either. But the chance is there for him to lock up the fifth cornerback spot largely because rookie challengers Isaiah Frey and Greg McCoy haven't followed up solid work in practices with game production. Both were awful last week late in a win over the Redskins when the reserves blew a 30-10 lead. If Wilhite has a big play or two -- even on special teams -- he could all but remove himself from the bubble.  It's important for Wilhite to make the big play because when it comes to a fifth or sixth CB, if there isn't a big difference, the cheapest one will get the nod. And the two rookies are much cheaper than Wilhite.

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLCHI.