This offseason has been difficult for Markus Wheaton since joining the Chicago Bears.

He was forced to have an emergency appendectomy at the start of training camp before breaking his finger once he returned to the practice fields. After missing the first two games of the year he is expected to get back into the lineup this week against his old team—the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Chicago's offense has been lacking much of a punch in terms of the passing game, and Wheaton is expected to be a guy who can help big up big yards down the field.

Wheaton averaged 14.1 yards per catch in four years with the Steelers between 2013 and 2016. His strongest season came in 2015, catching 44 passes for 749 yards with five touchdowns. His former quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, knows just what Wheaton can bring to the field on offense.

“He was a great teammate, super-nice guy, very unselfish," Roethlisberger said on Wednesday, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Just really enjoyed having him around here. In terms of a football player, you’re getting a guy who’s very smart. He knew our offense very well. Could stretch the field. Made some very big plays for us when we needed him.”



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The Oregon State standout was expected to be a major part of the Steelers' deep-passing game in 2016 before a shoulder injury forced him to miss all but three games.

Roethlisberger noted the most impressive part of Wheaton's game is not his speed, but rather his hands.

“He’s got a very good ability of using his hands," he said, via Adam Hoge of WGN Radio. "When you’re trying to stretch the field, you’ve gotta have some little techniques to help you get open because DBs can run as much as receivers can. So you gotta be able to use your hands to swim, kinda, get some swiping, get the hands off, I thought that he really had some good technique when it came to the deep ball and getting away from DBs.”

Wheaton maintains that his plan is simple for when he gets into the game.

“I want to make plays down the field,” Wheaton said, via Potash. “So hopefully when I get in, that’s what I’m doing.”

Bears fans are hoping that's the case on Sunday afternoon.