Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch, who did not play in the Bears’ first three preseason games, was a surprise starter in the finale Thursday night against the Titans.

Coach Matt Nagy has been cautious with his regulars in the preseason. But Lynch played into the second quarter and had no tackles and a batted pass at the line of scrimmage.

“[It] was more of a reps thing,” Nagy said. “He hasn’t had a lot of volume of reps. [We wanted] to see where he’s at conditioning-wise and where he’s at just playing.”

And?

“I think he had 15 plays today, and our number was around 15-20,” Nagy said. “We’ll see. I want to watch the tape and see exactly how he looked.”

Vaughters the playmaker

Outside linebacker James Vaughters continued his strong bid for a roster spot with another sack. He ended the preseason with three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Tight end Jesper Horsted had five receptions for 82 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown. And wide receiver Thomas Ives, the Hinsdale Central product, had five receptions for 99 yards.

Rested … and ready?

Of the expected regulars, only rookie running back David Montgomery made more than a token appearance in the preseason, with 13 snaps.

“I like where we’re at,” Nagy said. “I thought we had a really good training camp. We grew as a team. We grew as a family. We got better. Now the true test is going to be with our starters . . . seeing where we’re at.”