Bears Make Decision on QB Caleb Williams, Starters Playing vs. Bills

The Chicago Bears will play quarterback Caleb Williams and the rest of their starters in Sunday night’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, a decision that head coach Ben Johnson announced before Wednesday’s practice.

“Our starters are going to play,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Everybody is going to play.”

The Bears did not play Williams and the majority of their starters in their preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday, taking advantage of their joint practice with the Dolphins to get the first-team players the reps the coaches felt they needed.

According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Johnson also put several of his offensive starters — including Williams and wide receiver D.J. Moore — through an on-field workout “that lasted an hour and amassed 70-plus plays” before kickoff against the Dolphins.

“Last week, and really all through camp, I’ve been pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get [Williams] up to speed,” Johnson elaborated. “By the plan that we had a week ago, we were able to get him more reps than we would have been able to do had he played in the game. This week, it’s a different schedule, different length of time in terms of in between games and all that.

“Our plan right now is the guys that sat out last week, they will be playing this week.”

How Much Caleb Williams Will Play is Undetermined

Williams will make his 2025 preseason debut on Sunday, but Johnson said he has not yet determined how long the Bears will play 2024’s No. 1 overall pick against the Bills.

The Bears played Williams for seven drives over four games during the 2024 preseason, including giving him the reins for the entire first half in their third exhibition game at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. In total, Williams completed 10-of-20 passes for 170 yards and scrambled twice for 20 yards and his only touchdown of the preseason.

In 2025, though, the Bears have new coaching leadership under Johnson and different processes for evaluation. Johnson has talked about having a development plan in place for Williams that involves throwing “a lot” at him and seeing what he can handle, but it is unclear whether they will keep that tempo with him against the Bills or start refining the offense down to things they are certain Williams can handle and execute with ease.

Either way, it seems highly unlikely that Williams and the starters will play more than three drives against the Bills on Sunday night, if they even get that much runway.

Multiple Starters Will Make Playing Debut for Bears

When the Bears play their starters against the Bills on Sunday, they will also effectively debut several new players who have not played yet played a game in a Bears uniform.

Veteran guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson — whom the Bears acquired in trades during the 2025 offseason — and starting center Drew Dalman will all play their first game in orange and navy. While the Bears are still working through who will start for them at left tackle, Sunday’s game will give the coaching staff an occasion to see how their starting offensive line functions and performs together in a live-action game.

Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, another free-agent signing, will also make his Bears debut after impressing coaches and media both throughout camp with his reliability.

On the defensive side, Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo should get some run, too. The Bears invested big money in each defensive lineman during the offseason with plans to improve their pass rush under new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Unfortunately, the debut of second-round rookie Shemar Turner will have to wait, as he remains out with an ankle injury that he sustained during the team’s first camp practice in July.