With the return of rookie Alshon Jeffery, the Bears' receiving corps will be at full strength Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers.

Jeffery is officially listed as probable on the injury list. Jeffery last played on Oct. 7, breaking his right hand against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He's missed the last four games.

All signs continue to point to Bears rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery being active for Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

For the first time since breaking his right hand against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 7, Jeffery fully participated in practice on Friday.

Statistically, Caleb Hanie set the standard for Bears backup quarterbacks in the Jay Cutler era when he torched the Denver Broncos for 115 yards without throwing an interception for a 79.9 passer rating in a 13-10 overtime loss last year.

That's how bad Bears backups have been since they acquired Jay Cutler.

Not even the 2-5 record of Cutler replacements does the discouraging scenario any justice. Hanie, Josh McCown and Todd Collins combined to throw five touchdown passes and 16 interceptions for a combined passer rating of 42.7. Collins has one of the two victories, a 23-6 rout of the Carolina Panthers, when he was 6-of-16 for 32 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.

Hanie was 0-4 as a replacement for Cutler last year. He threw three touchdowns but gave almost as many back -- two of his nine interceptions were returned for touchdowns against the Seahawks. One against the Raiders was returned 73 yards to the Bears 6-yard line, not only killing a Bears' scoring opportunity, but setting up the Raiders for a demoralizing field goal at the end of the first half.

''We didn't handle last year well. It's documented that we didn't,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said when asked if the team is more confident with Campbell starting than it was with Hanie last year.

''That's why we went out and felt like we upgraded the position. I know the guys have a lot of confidence in Jason. He's played a lot of football. Started a lot of games. Yeah, we're hopeful. That's why we can't wait to get to this game. Injuries happen and we'll see exactly where we are. But we think we're going to be OK.''

As hoped and envisioned by the Bears, the Jay Cutler-Brandon Marshall combination has yielded plenty of good things for the offense this season. The highlights and big plays have actually been numerous.

But now things are different. Cutler will miss Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers with a concussion as veteran Jason Campbell gets the start in his place.

"I know my role: It's the receiver [and] the receiver has to adjust," Marshall said Friday at Halas Hall. "Whatever the quarterback wants, you have to give it to him.

"But the thing about Jason is he has a big arm and he has a great feel for the game. [Offensive coordinator] Mike Tice and [quarterbacks coach] Jeremy Bates are doing a great job of putting us in position to make it comfortable for us on Monday."

Bears quarterback Jason Campbell didn't like how things ended in Oakland, after he got the Raiders off to a 4-2 start last season.

While he was sidelined with a broken collarbone, the Raiders traded a pair of picks (a first and a second) for Carson Palmer, who closed out the rest of the season.

The Raiders finished 8-8.

Now, he'll return to the Bay area for a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, and he'll start for the Bears.

"You definitely don't want to see anyone get hurt or injured in this business. You understand that because it is a tough sport, sometimes things like that happen," Campbell said. "It's my first time starting since Oct. [16], I think, last year, when I broke my collarbone. And it'll be going back to the Bay Area.

"It feels good to have an opportunity to get back in there and play."

Of course Campbell wasn't rooting for Cutler, who was ruled out today with a concussion, to get injured.

But Campbell believes he got a raw deal in Oakland, and he wants to prove that he's still an NFL starting quarterback.

He sure didn't look like a comfortable backup last week.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will not start, a team spokesman announced, and he'll be replaced in the lineup by veteran Jason Campbell.

In addition, rookie defensive end Shea McClellin also has been ruled out for Monday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Bears didn't explain why the announcement was made today, before the team's second meaningful practice in preparation for the next game. The Bears will also practice Saturday before holding a walk-through Sunday in advance of their flight to the Bay Area.

Cutler suffered a concussion late in the second quarter of last Sunday's 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans. Linebacker Tim Dobbins drilled him, helmet-to-helmet, and he was flagged for unnecessary roughness. On Wednesday, the NFL also announced Dobbins was fined $30,000 for that hit.

"When a guy has a concussion, whether it's the first or whatever, it's a concern for you," Bears coach Lovie Smith said earlier this week. "He's not going to go back practicing until he's completely well and ready to go.

"He won't play until there's no issues with that."

Concussions have long been in the spotlight but it became an even bigger topic this week, when Cutler, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick all suffered concussions. Vick was deemed to have a very serious concussion, but Smith was cleared and practiced on a limited basis Wednesday and Thursday.

On Sunday, before the Bears kicked off against the Texans, team CEO Ted Phillips, former players Otis Wilson and Gary Fencer, as well as other guests and experts participated in a forum to discuss concussion/ traumatic brain injury.

Soldiers from the United States Army were in attendance as part of the NFL's partnership with the U.S. Army to improve awareness of traumatic brain injury and further research.

If Bears tight end Kellen Davis had to pick one play that really bothered him from his tough outing against the Houston Texans on Sunday night, it was the pass he dropped running a wide-open seam route late in the fourth quarter.

"It was a play I've always made and to come up short really made me upset," Davis said Thursday at Halas Hall. "I was disappointed in myself. I have to come back from that and make some more plays for the team."

There's no telling when Jay Cutler will be ready to play again. It may be as soon as Friday afternoon for practice at Halas Hall. Or it may be five Fridays from now.

With that in mind, defensive tackle Henry Melton and linebacker Brian Urlacher both voiced their disapproval for Houston Texans linebacker Tim Dobbins' helmet-to-helmet hit on Cutler, which caused his concussion.

Bears special teams coach Dave Toub said the organization's decision to work out punters this week was based on two things.

"You want to know for the emergency list, No. 1, and ... it's a performance-based business," Toub said Thursday after practice at Halas Hall. "Everybody knows that you need to perform at a high level, and if you don't, as a coach and as a team, you have to explore other options that are out there. You have to know who's available if we do make a change."

Indications are that quarterback Jay Cutler will not practice today at Halas Hall.

In addition, his usual press conference today will not take place.

Those are both strong indications that Cutler hasn't been cleared by team doctors to return to the practice field, the first key step in hopes of him starting Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Cutler suffered a concussion during the second quarter of a 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday night.

During a standard week, Cutler addresses reporters on Wednesday, followed by receiver Brandon Marshall. Then, on Thursday, the Bears press conference features two defensive players, usually linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

But with a Monday night game this week, the schedule is pushed back a day. But the Bears announced this morning that they flopped the schedule, meaning the defensive players will hold their press conference today. Those players will be Urlacher and defensive tackle Henry Melton.

The offensive players who will address reporters tomorrow hasn't been announced.

If Cutler cannot start, then Jason Campbell will replace him. Veteran Josh McCown, officially signed Tuesday, will serve as the backup.

An NFL spokesman confirmed that Houston Texans linebacker Tim Dobbins was fined $30,000 Wednesday for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler on Sunday night. ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report Dobbins' fine.

The Bears didn't have a practice today, since they play next Monday night, but quarterback Jay Cutler has started the process of getting medical clearance to return to the field.

When that is, however, isn't clear.

"[Jay Cutler] is getting better. We're still evaluating him, he's meeting with people, medical staff, our trainers and all of that, but he's getting better," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We do have a little bit more time and that's always good."

Asked if the fact that Cutler has had multiple concussions -- his last documented was in 2010 -- affected the evaluation process, Smith said, "I can't really get into all that.

"When a guy has a concussion, whether it's the first or whatever, it's a concern for you. We will do everything thing possible to get him back but it'll all take care of itself, whether it's two or whatever. He's not going to go back practicing until he's completely well and ready to go. He won't play until there's no issues with that."

Later, Smith noted that "every case is different."

"Jay's feeling a whole lot better," Smith said. "It'll all play out."

Smith, though, suggested that the heightened attention on concussions won't really change the Bears approach.

"I just think in the past, if he had some type of symptoms, you took a guy out of a game. So I don't see it affecting an awful lot," he said. "Now people are really on top of concussions a lot more and we probably redefine what a concussion is. A lot of those things have happened but I don't think so."