The Chicago Bears made it clear this week that Caleb Williams is getting held out of the team's preseason opener. Ben Johnson commented on the situation, offering that the Bears were seeing the quarterback in practice every day and knew what to expect moving forward. This is an understandable sentiment, as is the want to protect your franchise star from picking up any injuries in meaningless contests. However, the flip side of this is pointing out the jump in speed between practice and the preseason.
Even with both teams calling vanilla plays and refusing to tip anything about the season ahead, there is value in getting reps and building confidence. It is an outlook that accomplished Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has embraced by playing Patrick Mahomes in the preseason in years past, no matter the accomplishments the signal caller has piled up. It points to what is an impossible answer to find, one that leaves the ability for fans and pundits to critique no matter how it plays out.
If Williams were to be put into a preseason game and suffer an injury, Ben Johnson would face an unquestionable firestorm. The quarterback starting out the season slowly after missing the preseason would leave fans and pundits pointing fingers at the missed reps in the preseason that might have changed the flow of the offense or built the confidence that would've prevented any potential slow start.
Bears Caleb Williams Decision Points to Impossible Preseason Planning
Johnson is going with the lesser risk here, opting to have Williams miss reps rather than risk injury to the franchise star in meaningless games. While this is an understandable outlook, it does further illustrate how many different approaches there are to the preseason and how there simply isn't a perfect answer with coaches leaving themselves open to critiques no matter how they manage the practice games.
For Bears fans, there is a bit of relief that there won't be any stress in the preseason when it comes to a season-changing injury. Losing Williams is the only thing that could take away expectations of contention for Chicago, based on the current offensive depth and incredibly strong coaching.
Perhaps this is the conclusion that Johnson came to, opting to take away any risk in ending Chicago's season before it has begun. Regardless of the answer, Bears fans will have to wait just a bit longer to see their star quarterback make his 2026 debut.
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