Even with all the Bears’ urgency and their confidence that they’re ready to push for a trip to the Super Bowl, they’d be wise to proceed cautiously with quarterback Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury.
It wasn’t clear Monday exactly what their plan was, but it’d be hard to imagine general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson taking any chances by rushing him.
Johnson avoided boxing himself in with any sort of timetable or projection, saying only that he didn’t think Williams would practice this week leading up to the Bears’ home game Monday against the Eagles. He did not, however, rule out Williams for that game despite saying earlier in his weekly ESPN 1000 appearance that he would “likely miss some time.”
It’s almost certain that backup Tyson Bagent will work with the starters when the Bears resume practice Wednesday, setting him up for his first start since 2023.
Johnson gave minimal information on Williams’ injury, perhaps out of gamesmanship or from annoyance with being peppered about it in the first 24 hours after Williams was carted to the locker room at the end of the Bears’ 9-3 loss to the Vikings.
When pressed for the next steps and whether Williams or the team would govern whether he was healthy enough to contribute, Johnson left it open-ended.
“He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here,” he said. “This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being. … He gets back — he has in the past — a lot faster than what people can anticipate.
“He’s going to attack this with everything that he knows. He’s got a great team around him, both in this building and outside this building, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
The Bears surely would prioritize the long term when it comes to Williams, of whom they’ve spoken openly about hoping to sign to a contract extension after the season. On that topic, all Johnson said was the team would make sure he’s “ready to go” before he returns.
