CHICAGO -- It's late on Thursday night in a crowded locker room. A preseason football game just ended and mammoth athletes are getting dressed in tight quarters as the disposable players try to dry off without getting hit by cameras and scurrying reporters.

But there in his usual spot, the locker closest to the door for a quick escape, Devin Hester dresses quickly and quietly.

He is smiling and making jokes.

Devin Hester has two kick returns for 68 yards during the preseason. AP Photo/Bob Leverone

With life as Jay Cutler's least favorite receiver now a thing of the past, Hester can focus on what makes him happy. And a happy Devin Hester is a confident Devin Hester. You know what he can do when he's happy and confident, and healthy.

Hester got the Bears good field position on their first drive of the game against the San Diego Chargers with a 45-yard return out of the end zone.

Starting at the Bears' 37, Cutler wound up getting sacked twice on the opening drive, but that's not Hester's concern anymore. He's just responsible for the good field position.

"A good way to start off fast," Hester said of his return. "I knew I wasn't going to get many today. Preseason, we know they're not trying to kick it out, so they're going to give us good returnable balls just to see where their coverage skills are. So I was able to get one in before I got snatched up. I don't want to show them too much. I don't want teams to be afraid to kick it."

Can Hester convince teams to kick to him while proving he's still dangerous enough to get a nice, new contract? That's the challenge this year.

At 30 (he turns 31 in November) Hester is likely near the end of his career, though he thinks he has a few good years left as a pure returner.

They might not be in Chicago. With the Bears under new management, he's one of 43 Bears with expiring contracts. Hester signed a $40 million extension in 2008 with the idea that he'd be a go-to receiver. He won't get anything close that money on a new contract. To make any serious money next year, he'll have to show the league, if not just the Bears, he's still the Big Hurt by the Lake.

Hester smiled when I called him the Bears' designated hitter.

"Oh yeah, that's what it's going to look like," Hester said last week. "Every time I'm up to bat, it's either going to be a strike or it's going to be a home run."

Even the NFL can't fine Hester for the kind of big hits he's planning.

His past, the dreams of being a No. 1 receiver and a Hall of Fame-caliber return man, are behind him. Now he's ready to evolve into the final stage of his career, where he focuses on one thing and one thing only.

Hester never meshed with Cutler -- his past two seasons were pretty miserable, he said -- and despite his reputation for running crisp routes, the results never matched the expectations.