Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will not play in the team’s preseason opener against the Browns on Saturday, and it sounds like head coach Ben Johnson is leaning toward not playing the signal-caller at all in August.
Johnson told reporters in his Thursday press conference that “a number of starters” will not play against Cleveland, including Williams. Johnson said backup Tyson Bagent will start at quarterback and play about a half.
“There will be a handful of guys that aren’t participating in this matchup,” Johnson said. “And yet, I think we’re going to get some good evals of the guys who are out there and make sure that we have enough to go win this game. So, really excited about that.”
As for the rest of the preseason, Johnson noted that decisions on preseason playing time have not been fully made. But Williams seeing game time won’t be a requirement, particularly as the club will practice with the Bengals next week.
“[D]o I need to see Caleb Williams in the preseason? No, I don’t,” Johnson said. “I see him every single day in practice, and I know what we’re going to get come the season. And yet, at the same time, there’s a workload and a number of reps that we want to hit as a team. And so, we’ll make sure we even that out — whether that’s game reps or not.”
Kickoff between the Bears and Browns is slated for 1 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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