Caleb Williams (hamstring) officially questionable

The Bears’ QB1 is seemingly on track to make his return this week, when his team takes on the Falcons. When speaking to reporters after practice, though, Williams said he does not know if he is going to play yet, adding that he still has a number of tests and protocols to go through before he’s cleared. If active, Williams could end up running a little less frequently than he did early in the year, perhaps playing cautiously in his first game back. Regardless, Williams is a low-end QB1 if he is indeed active.

Technically, Williams was estimated as a full participant ahead of the Bears’ Week 6 game against the Falcons. We’ll see if Williams, who has missed the past three games, practices in full on Thursday. Either way he’s likely to be under center against the pass-funnel Atlanta defense in Week 6. He should be in all lineups if he’s active.

Head coach Ben Johnson said on Sunday that Williams would be “close” to suiting up for Week 6, and he reportedly had a good workout before Week 5’s game against the Packers. Williams has missed the last three games with the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2, but the Bears have managed to go 2-1 over that span. Williams logged one limited practice last week, after being a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday. If he can get on the practice field multiple days this week, it would be a good sign for his availability for next week’s game against the Falcons.

Why the Bears went through the dog and pony show of labeling Williams as “questionable” when everybody knew he would not be playing, nobody knows. Either way, Williams appears to have a strong chance of returning for Week 6 against the Falcons. Expect another run-heavy game plan, even without Monangai, in what should be the final game of the Tyson Bagent experience for the time being.

Williams is technically listed as questionable for Week 5 versus the Packers, but Tyson Bagent is fully expected to make the start. Still, Williams’ return to practice on Friday was a pleasant surprise for Bears fans. If all goes well in practice next week, he could return after missing just three games, which was on the short end of his projected timeline.

Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters on Monday that Tyson Bagent will start against the Packers this week. Fast forward a few days and the odds have changed slightly. Williams did a little throwing, practicing in a limited capacity today, and is progressing through his rehab plan. That said, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Bagent will “most likely” get the start. We expect that to be the case. Regardless, make sure Williams is rostered in 12-team formats.

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.