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Dontrelle Inman helps, but Bears still have crisis at wide receiver

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- It took Dontrelle Inman one game to establish that he is the best wide receiver on the Chicago Bears' roster.

In his Bears debut, Inman, who played 57 of 60 offensive snaps, had six catches for 88 yards on eight targets, good for the second-most single-game receiving yards by a Bears receiver this season.

Inman wasn’t perfect on Sunday. His drop on third down on the Bears’ final drive was a major gaffe that cannot be overlooked. Still, he showed enough to be taken seriously.

“He made great catches all game, so that was just one of those [the drop] that we have to make,” Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. “We’re going to go back to work this week, and I have a lot of confidence in him.

“He made great plays for us, and he’s coming along really quickly. It’s tough to get here on short notice and learn a playbook, so hats off to him for doing that.”

Unfortunately, Inman’s rapid ascension is an indictment of the rest of the receivers.

Veteran Kendall Wright, who’s serviceable in the slot, leads all Chicago wideouts with just 27 catches for 305 yards and one touchdown.

Tre McBride, who had 92 receiving yards in New Orleans, played only seven snaps on offense in Week 10.

Markus Wheaton, who’s making $6 million guaranteed in 2017, was on the field for two plays Sunday.

With one catch on the season, Wheaton is the clear runner-up to Mike Glennon for Chicago’s most disappointing free-agent signing of 2017.

The Bears were so out of whack offensively Sunday that Josh Bellamy played 40 snaps at wide receiver. Bellamy is a great special-teamer. He’s also the most enthusiastic and vocal guy inside the locker room -- in a good way.

But 40 snaps at wide receiver? That’s not Bellamy’s strength, regardless of the fact that he caught a 46-yard touchdown from Trubisky.

There’s no easy way out of this mess. The Bears can’t count on Cameron Meredith or Kevin White because of their respective injuries and injury history. Bears general manager Ryan Pace likely has to draft another receiver in the spring and (probably) overspend to sign one in free agency.

But at least Inman has some potential. That’s more than can be said about others in the group.