Bears' Caleb Williams Says He 'Would Love' to Play in Hall of Fame Game vs. Texans

The Chicago Bears have not yet revealed if rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will be playing in the Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans on Thursday night, but Williams is hoping he gets a chance to see some action.

Per Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper, Williams told reporters on Monday that he "would love to get out there and play" against the Texans later this week.

Williams went on to add that he believes the experience of playing in the preseason outweighs the risk of getting injured.

"I always think there's more pros than cons in anything, especially for a young guy like myself," he said. "The reps are always paramount for anybody like myself, a young rookie, a second-year guy, a third-year guy. It's paramount. It's really important and we'll see about these preseason games coming up, how they play out."

The No. 1 pick in this year's draft, Williams is the most important player on the team, so it makes sense that Chicago would want to protect him by keeping him off the field until the regular season starts. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said recently that he agrees there's value in playing during the preseason and he indicated that he would follow a similar model used by recent first-round quarterbacks.

"Haven't made any decisions but we certainly want to get him some reps," coach Matt Eberflus said earlier this month, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "I know the guys last year [2023 first-round QBs C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson] got 45 to 55 reps in terms of those guys. We're looking right in that range. We'll see, but again, it's always week to week because you have to see what the health of your line is and where everybody is. But certainly, all those exposures are equally as valuable."

Fans will certainly be hoping to see Williams take the field on Thursday, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Bears wait until later in the preseason before deploying him.