The Chicago Bears take the field on Friday for their joint practice with the Miami Dolphins. This marks one of two joint practices the Bears will be holding in the next two weeks. Following this practice, Chicago will open the preseason against the Dolphins on Sunday.
Heading into the game, many fans are wondering if they will see Caleb Williams and the starters get reps in the first game. On Friday morning, head coach Ben Johnson answered this question in an interview with Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns.
Ben Johnson explains why Caleb Williams and a number of starters won’t play Sunday against the Dolphins 👇https://t.co/x4TbDagb6D pic.twitter.com/lpe44qeYU9
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) August 8, 2025
Ben Johnson Confirms Caleb Williams Won't Play in Preseason Opener
Johnson said, "The thought here is there is going to be a number of guys that aren't playing in this game. I haven't even told the team this yet. So we're going to get great work in the joint practice. We have a number of things scheduled around the game for those guys that aren't playing".
He added," Whether it's the day before or the day after. We are actually going to end up getting more reps for them than if we had played them in this game. I think the numbers, as they stand right now, which are subject to change, are nine guys on offense and nine guys on defense. Number 18 is one of those."
When it comes to Johnson announcing he won't play Williams on Sunday, fans have two reactions. Many fans would rather see the second-year quarterback play in the preseason opener. This is because Williams has struggled at times during training camp with getting play calls in.
Playing on Sunday would allow him more reps to fix those issues. Moreover, it would aid him in learning the playbook. Given that this is a completely new offense, getting as many live game reps as possible before the regular season gives Chicago the best chance of success. Sure, joint practices provide a controlled setting to get live reps, but it's nothing like a game.
On the other hand, some fans may be alright with this decision because they don't have a reason not to trust Johnson. Since arriving in Chicago, Johnson has quickly turned the culture around by taking accountability for his missteps and making the players take accountability.
If he believes not playing Williams against the Dolphins is what's best to get the team ready for Week 1, some fans trust it. Even so, if the Bears come out of the gate stumbling, fans will start to question whether not playing Williams and the offense in the first preseason game was a mistake.