Caleb Williams, Most Bears Starters Won't Play in NFL Preseason Opener vs. Dolphins

Most of the Chicago Bears' starters will not be playing during Sunday's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, head coach Ben Johnson said Friday on CHGO's Hoge & Jahns show.

Johnson said that about 18 starters, including quarterback Caleb Williams, will be resting during the game.

The Dolphins and Bears, which are set to kick off the preseason on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, are participating in a joint practice on Friday.

"We're gonna get great work in the joint practice. We have a number of things scheduled around the game for those guys that aren't playing, whether it's the day before or the day after, where we're actually going to end up getting more reps for them than they would have had we played them Week 1 in this game," Johnson told CHGO.

Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus made a similar decision by holding Williams out of the first game of the 2024 season.

Williams noted when making his NFL preseason debut in Week 2 that it was helpful to get reps in a competitive setting again after playing his last college game on Nov. 18 of the year prior.

He ultimately appeared in both Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason, completing 10 of 20 pass attempts for 170 total yards heading into his rookie campaign.

Getting reps ahead of his second NFL season will again be important for Williams as he prepares to play under the direction of Johnson, who recently told ESPN's Courtney Cronin his Bears defense is "more complex" than the system he was previously running with the Detroit Lions.

After early reports indicated Williams was initially struggling to adjust to Johnson's offense, the head coach gave a vote of confidence toward his quarterback when speaking with CHGO on Friday.

"Just starting over a little bit in terms of the fundamentals, and yet he's learning a brand-new system at the same time," Johnson said about Williams. "So there's growing pains... and I'm really proud of how he's approached this thing. He's taken the coaching, and we're fortunate that we still have time to get to where we need to for Week 1, and going into the first stretch of this season."

Johnson continued, "We simply can't get enough reps right now."

Bears fans can expect to see backup Tyler Bagent under center when the preseason opens this weekend. Given that Johnson is looking for his team to get more reps, however, there's a chance Williams could see some playing time when the team resumes preseason action the following Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.