CHICAGO — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will not play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field, coach Ben Johnson announced before practice Thursday.
Saturday’s game will be the only preseason game in front of the home crowd. Last year, Williams played in two of the three preseason games.
“Do I need to see Caleb Williams in the preseason? No, I don’t,” Johnson said Thursday. “I see him every single day in practice.”
Johnson noted there are benchmarks the coaching staff wants to hit with Williams, and those will help determine if he plays in the two remaining preseason games in Cincinnati and Nashville, Tenn.
“I don’t know that I need to see game snaps,” Johnson said. “What we’re trying to assess is the volume throughout the week and make sure we’re hitting our benchmarks to make sure we’re ready for a 17-game season.”
Johnson said the Bears will sit “a number of our starters” on both sides of the ball. Notably, third-year pro Kiran Amegadjie will start at left tackle, and veteran Jedrick Wills Jr. will alternate in. That has been a notable position battle during training camp.
“We want to see guys compete, we want to see guys playing fast,” Johnson said.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent will start in place of Williams. Johnson suggested Bagent likely will play the entire first half. The Bears also have veteran third-stringer Case Keenum and undrafted rookie Miller Moss on the roster.
The Bears haven’t been afraid to get physical during training camp practices. It’s a delicate balance between preparing for the season and keeping the starters healthy.
“Whatever Coach says,” Williams said Tuesday. “I treat practice like it’s a game. Today, getting into that mindset is really important, and being able to snap in and out of that is really important. Whenever Coach tells me that I’m going to play is when I’m going to play.”
The Bears will play the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 22 and the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 29. They will participate in joint practices with those opponents on Aug. 20 and Aug. 27.