Caleb Williams would have been a full participant in Wednesday practice if the Bears had held a regular session, a sign he is edging closer to a return after missing three games with a hamstring injury from Week 2 against the Vikings.
That matters now because the Bears still do not know whether Williams, Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum will start Sunday against the Falcons in Atlanta, and Ben Johnson said the plan remains fluid. He said the team will decide what is best for the football team, while stressing that health is the top priority and that none of the three quarterbacks is fully back to 100% at this point in the season.
The walk-through came as the Bears kept sorting out an offense that has lacked consistency since Williams went down. Johnson said he wants the next quarterback to have a good rapport with the offensive line, the operation and the pass catchers, and he wants the unit to find a rhythm after what he said was a difficult showing last week in Green Bay. That is why the Bears are leaning on a back-to-the-basics approach as they prepare for Sunday.
The friction is that Williams is moving closer to playing, but the Bears are not treating that as a final answer. Johnson said the staff still has to figure out who gives the team the best chance, and that judgment is about more than one player’s health; it is also about how quickly the offense can settle in and avoid the three-and-outs and turnovers that have been part of the recent slide.
For Williams, Wednesday was the clearest sign yet that he is progressing toward the lineup. For the Bears, it did not settle the quarterback question. They still have to choose between Williams, Bagent and Keenum before they leave for Atlanta, and that decision will tell the rest of the offense how much change to expect on Sunday.
