Brian Urlacher continued to miss practice time with knee soreness Saturday and this time he wasn't the only Bears linebacker sitting out.

Dom DeCicco (groin strain) and Jabara Williams (hamstring) also missed practice. As a result, the Bears went on a hiring binge. They added free agents K.C. Asiodu and Xavier Adibi to the roster. 

"It's hard to practice that way," Smith said about all the linebacker injuries. "Dom has done some good things, but he's going to be on the shelf for a while."

Urlacher has been out seven practices and a preseason game. He was at practice Saturday watching after missing a few practices and the game for a personal matter, beyond his knee problem.

"He still has some soreness with the knee," Smith said. "Exactly when he'll be back I can't tell you that. But it's good to get him back here (watching)."

Urlacher sprained two ligaments in his left knee in the regular season finale and never had surgery. He spent all off-season doing therapy and missing team workouts. He practiced most of the first week of camp before the soreness started. He hasn't spoken to the media since the knee soreness started, and neither he nor the team explained his absence for "personal reasons."

Houston, making eight total starts. He played in four games for Minnesota last year. Asiodu appeared in 10 games for St. Louis in 2010 and a game for New Orleans last season.

Re-arranging the deck chairs: In addition to their linebacker signings, the Bears signed DE Aston Whiteside and cut DT Ronnie Cameron and CB Jeremy Ware. Ware got beat for a TD Thursday and then was badly beaten for what should have been a second TD but the receiver dropped the ball. Whiteside is from Abilene Christian, the school that produced both Johnny Knox and former Bear Daniel Manning. He was cut by Dallas, which had been trying to make a linebacker out of him.

Not so Lovie dovie: Smith became testy when asked about an injury that kept backup guard Chilo Rachal out of practice. "General soreness, how's that," he said, using a term he often likes to toss out when he doesn't want to detail an injury. "Vague," his questioner shot back, leading to some laughter among media members. "Not vague, general soreness," a displeased Smith then retorted.

Cooler head prevails: For a fleeting instance Saturday, the first camp fight looked like it might break out as 6-foot-1, 207-pound S Anthony Walters shoved OT Cory Brandon. Then Walters quickly opted out of further proceedings -- a wise choice. Brandon is 6-7, 324.

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLCHI.