"I would guesstimate in the high 60s, maybe 70 percent right now," Bentley said. "That 30 percent is a big 30 percent, but I'll never be 100 percent and I'm not expecting it to be.

"If I can get it in the 90s, that's good enough."

For Bentley to be close to 70 percent at this point is amazing. Bentley, who signed a free-agent contract worth $36 million last year, tore the patellar tendon in his knee on the first day of training camp a year ago, then suffered a staph infection that almost led to the amputation of his leg.

"That was a tough moment," Bentley said, head down as he recalled the possibility.

"The last seven months have been — interesting," he said. "A lot of highs, a lot of lows. Probably a lot more lows than highs at the start."

Bentley said all is over and done with — "There's nothing I can do about it" — and his goal is to have his knee in the 90-something-percent range by the end of the month.

The extra month he's taking to continue rehab was something he expected. He said he never thought that after his personal physician cleared him that he would step right in the first day of camp.

"That was part of how I was passed; that was part of the deal," he said. "When I came in, I didn't expect to come out here and run out and start practicing.

"Once you come into training camp, you start going down. I can't afford to go anywhere but up right now. That (month) was fully anticipated."

Bentley said he thinks his chances of returning to the field this season are "pretty good," but acknowledged starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List is a possibility.

"There (is) nothing happening that I didn't anticipate happening," he said. "Everything is going as planned."

Bentley has had quite a year since he tore the patellar tendon.

A staph infection put him back in the Cleveland Clinic twice for more than 30 days. In November, he visited Dr. Joseph Warren in New York. Warren opened up Bentley's knee and cleaned out the last of the staph.

All the procedures delayed Bentley's rehab, and the staph could have damaged the repair to the point that the knee needed another surgery.

Bentley said that in March, he started to think he might be able to come back.

In June, he decided not to have another operation, then returned to the team at the start of camp.

"The last several months, the last year, hasn't been quite easy," he said. "But I'm here now, thank God for that, and I'm staying the course."

He tried to downplay the perception that he might have differences with the team, but acknowledged there was miscommunication.

"I don't think we've really been off the (same) page," Bentley said. "I think everyone wanted me to get better; I wanted to get better. As far as the ultimate goal, the parties were pretty much united on that front.

"At times there was miscommunication."

He said he goes to meetings in the morning and evening, and rehabs in the afternoon with his private trainer. He can do some offensive line drills and said learning the playbook will be "cake."

"I'm just here to do what I want to do, and that's to play, help the team win, do what I want to do," Bentley said. "I'm here to play ball. That's all I want to do.