The Chicago Bears are getting ready to wrap up their preseason on Friday as they visit the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. After the impressive 38-0 win over the Bills in their second preseason game, the Bears are hoping to keep the momentum going ahead of their regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
The score is obviously far less important than individual performances when it comes to the preseason. Chicago would love to avoid injuries in the preseason finale and ideally wants to make final decisions on a few key position battles like left tackle.
With this in mind, head coach Ben Johnson just announced his plans for the starters in the final preseason game.
HC Ben Johnson says the Bears starters WILL play in their final preseason game against the Chiefs 👀@heykayadams | @ChicagoBears #DaBears pic.twitter.com/cDABrxnR2K
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 19, 2025
Bears Will Play Starters in 3rd Preseason Game
Speaking to Kay Adams on Tuesday, the Bears head coach revealed that he has every intention of playing the starters on Friday. He had previously stated that he was uncertain about the decision and that he would talk it out with his staff throughout the week, and it sounds like they have made the call that it is more beneficial to have starters get more reps ahead of the season.
After the win against the Bills, Johnson had stated that it was important to go through the prime-time routine since Chicago would be playing a prime-time home game in Week 1. The Chiefs game, however, will be the first road game of the preseason for the Bears, and Johnson presumably wants his starters to experience a road game against one of the best teams in the league and in a hostile environment.
There is certainly no right or wrong answer when it comes to whether and how much to play one's starters. Coaches around the league implement different approaches when it comes to their preseason rotations, depending on their teams. Johnson's former team, the Detroit Lions, for example, is not giving starters any reps before the regular season.
While Johnson made it clear that the starters will get some reps on Friday, he didn't specify how long they are going to be out there. How much Caleb Williams and Co. will be out there in Kansas City, therefore, remains to be seen.