Starting running back Fred Jackson feels there is a 100 percent chance he can play when the Buffalo Bills open the regular season Sept. 12 against Miami.

 Coach Chan Gailey wouldn't set the odds that high, saying he's not ready to commit to that.

 Jackson, however, cleared a big hurdle in his race to return when he practiced Tuesday for the first time since breaking his left hand Aug. 13 at Washington.

 Jackson shed the cast he had on his arm but was still wearing a hard brace that restricted some of what he could do.

 "I still can't hold the ball in my left hand like I want to with this brace that I have on," he said.

 Jackson did catch passes with the brace on, although he joked the quarterbacks were taking it easy on him.

 "I caught as much as possible, using the hand to see what it would feel like. It felt fine during it, so hopefully next week I could come out and do more stuff with it," he said.

Gailey said Jackson's layoff showed.

 "He's rusty. He hasn't done much of anything and he has a hard time handling the ball completely. But he moved around pretty good. He's in good shape still and takes good care of himself," the coach said.

 Just how soon Jackson returns will depend partly on his pain threshold.

 "If I get hit on it, it might bother it a little bit. I haven't been hit on it yet, so I don't know how much there would be involved," he said. "Right now it's just about dealing with the pain."

 The earliest timetable set by doctors for Jackson's return was four weeks. That benchmark is Sept. 10, two days before the opener.

 Fellow running back Marshawn Lynch practiced fully Tuesday and will be in the lineup Thursday when the Bills close the preseason against the Detroit Lions.

 "Marshawn took quite a few reps out there and looked good. It didn't look like there was any residual effect. So, I'm looking forward to watching him Thursday night," Gailey said.

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     Also returning to practice Tuesday was rookie offensive tackle Ed Wang, a fifth-round pick in April. Wang has been out about a month after having thumb surgery. He won't play Thursday.

 "He doesn't have a way to grip yet, not that linemen ever hold," Gailey said. "We're trying to get him back in football conditioning shape for when he does get well."

Right tackle Cornell Green and linebacker Kawika Mitchell didn't practice Tuesday. Mitchell was absent, while Green watched from the sideline.

 Gailey was extremely coy in explaining both situations.

 On Mitchell, the coach said, "He's got a little issue. We don't think it's a big deal. He's getting it checked out."

 Gailey said Green was nursing an undisclosed injury suffered in the last preseason game against Cincinnati and would be a game-time decision for Detroit.

jskurski@buffnews.comnull