Eddie Royal Joins List Of Injured Bears Receivers

By Chris Emma--

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) -- Add another one to the Bears' growing list of injured receivers. Eddie Royal missed Wednesday's practice with a hip injury and is day-to-day in his recovery.

An eight-year veteran, Royal makes is one of four Chicago receivers out with injuries -- the Bears' top four, in fact -- as he joins Alshon Jeffery (calf), Marquess Wilson (hamstring) and Kevin White (shin stress fracture) on the sidelines.

"I've never been a part of anything like that -- all four going down like that," said Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

In practice Wednesday, the Bears' top receiver was Josh Bellamy, with Rashad Lawrence and Marc Mariani also seeing reps.

For Cutler going into the huddle in practice, it was a different feeling seeing unfamiliar faces.

"They're excited," said Cutler. "They want the ball, they want to do things the right way. We'll see how it goes."

This preseason, Royal has proved to be an important piece for the Bears' offense, specifically due to his comfort with quarterback Jay Cutler. Last season in San Diego, Royal played all 16 games, catching 62 passes for 778 yards and seven touchdowns.

Chicago travels to Cincinnati on Saturday for its third and most meaningful preseason game.

Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.