Caleb Williams (hamstring) resumes practicing

The Bears have a progression plan in place for Williams’ rehab, and per Johnson, the star quarterback is “right on track.” Williams resumed throwing “a little bit the other day.” Although the team does not yet know when Williams will retake the field on game day, they have set up a series of benchmarks for him to hit. Their Week 7 Thursday Night Football game could complicate things. Bringing Williams back in Week 6 would give him a short turnaround, and he could be sore after his first game back. Expect them to handle this cautiously. The Bears currently sit in second in the NFC North with a 3-1 record.

Williams has already been ruled out for Week 5, but Wiederer notes that he is “progressing notably with his on-field recovery steps.” He added that the Bears having a Thursday game in Week 7 complicates things slightly. If Williams returns in Week 6, he will have an unusually short turnaround to his next game. That’s a bridge the Bears will potentially have to cross next week. For now. Tyson Bagent will draw the start again on Sunday. Ben Johnson has made magic with both of his backups so far. We fully expect the offense to survive one more week without Williams under center.

Williams is at least one more week away from returning from the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2. The Bears will again start Tyson Bagent in Week 5 against the Bears after Bagent looked solid in his first start since 2023. Bagent threw for 268 scoreless yards against the Jets, completing 73.5 percent of his passes while throwing zero touchdowns and one interception. We’ll see if Williams gets any closer to playing when the Bears visit the Falcons in Week 6.

Williams will miss another game, with Tyson Bagent likely to start for Chicago. D’Andre Swift, who missed some practice time this week, will suit up against a New York defense allowing the seventh lowest EPA per rush through three games.

Williams was never believed to have a real shot at playing, but the Bears officially ruled him out on Friday. Tyson Bagent has reportedly taken all of the first-team snaps in practice this week, but Ben Johnson may wait until kickoff to reveal who his starter will be on Sunday, with both Bagent and Case Keenum expected to be active. We’ll see if Williams’ status improves for Week 5’s game against the Packers.

He appears to have no chance of being cleared for Week 4. Week 5 remains a bit murky; it would be early per his timetable, but we think he might at least have a chance of suiting up then.

Bears coach Ben Johnson said Williams will not participate in today’s walkthrough, but noted that Williams is “getting better every single day.” He also said he has not decided which quarterback will start in Week 4 against the Jets. Week 3 starter QB Case Keenum was victorious over the Eagles on Monday Night Football and nominal No. 2 QB Tyson Bagent has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Veteran journeyman Case Keenum will start under center for the Bears while Tyson Bagent will serve as his backup after clearing concussion protocol Sunday. Expect a ground-heavy game plan from the Bears as they look to hand the Eagles their first loss of the 2026 season.

Schefter noted that Williams could return sooner, and the timeline is simply an estimate from the doctors. Still, it would be risky for the team to rush him back, even if he is pushing to play. Williams has already been ruled out for Week 3 and Tyson Bagent is questionable because of a concussion. If he isn’t ready when the Bears take on the Eagles on Monday, Case Keenum will draw the start.

Williams is likely looking at a multi-week absence after injuring his hamstring in Week 2. Tyson Bagent is in the final stages of the concussion protocol after practicing in full Saturday but will need to be cleared by an independent neurologist Sunday to suit up on Monday Night Football against the Eagles. Bagent is officially listed as questionable.