85 Daniel Brown TE

Brown sustained a shoulder injury during Thursday's preseason finale against the Bills, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Brown had two receptions for 46 yards in 17 offensive snaps prior to suffering the injury. The 26-year-old was designated doubtful to return but the severity of the issue is not known.

Brown caught five passes for 90 yards in Thursday's loss to the Bengals.

Although Brown had an outstanding stat line, he did most of his damage with the third-string offense on the field. His biggest play was a 56-yard reception in which he caught a short pass and found plenty of room to run against backup defenders. Despite the strong showing, Brown has an uphill battle to place better than the fourth-string tight end, especially since he's not considered to be a great blocker, making him a bit one-dimensional as a pass catcher.

Brown (ankle) played in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Ravens, JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

While he wasn't credited with any targets, Brown at least proved that he's recovered from the ankle injury he dealt with early in training camp. With Trey Burton, Dion Sims and Adam Shaheen locked in as the Bears' top three tight ends , Brown is squaring off against Ben Braunecker and Colin Thompson for the possibility of one roster spot.

Brown sat out of Chicago's first training camp practice Sunday, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Brown hauled in 13 passes for 129 yards through 14 games in 2017, and that level appears to be his ceiling again. The Bears brought in Trey Burton (previously on the Eagles) in free agency and still have Dion Sims and red-zone target Adam Shaheen on the roster. Brown will instead be counted on for special teams and run-blocking scenarios.

Brown has signed a contract to return to the Bears in 2018, Adam Hoge of WGN Radio reports.

The Bears failed to extend a qualifying offer to Brown before the start of the new league year, so it didn't seem likely he'd be brought back for another go around. However, it's now clear that he'll return to Chicago in 2018. With that said, Brown is firmly behind Adam Shaheen, Dion Sims and the recently-acquired Trey Burton on the depth chart, likely setting him up for a special-teams role.