Will preseason reps erase recent struggles of Bears' Caleb Williams?

As expected, first-year Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson revealed that quarterback Caleb Williams and other starters will play in this Sunday's preseason home game against the Buffalo Bills.

For an article published on Thursday, The Athletic's Jon Greenberg suggested that Williams could benefit from the extra reps at Soldier Field.

"As for the quarterback, on Wednesday, Williams made some nice throws — particularly to (wide receiver) Rome Odunze — but also saw a flurry of false-start penalties," Greenberg wrote. "He made a bad pitch that would’ve been returned for a touchdown in a real game. He wasn’t bad. But no one rushed to their phones to make longshot MVP bets."

This update follows multiple reports regarding Williams' supposed training-camp struggles. He and other starters were spectators for Chicago's preseason opener versus the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 10, but that was before Monday’s practice was allegedly "a low point for" the Bears' first-team offense. 

Greenberg believes that Williams and other first-teamers will play "a quarter and maybe a series into the second" against Buffalo. Whether Johnson could keep his starters in until halftime if they fail to impress remains to be seen. 

"You don’t need to be at training camp to know that the offense has an 'up-and-down' day pretty much every practice as it tries to figure out everything from the lengthy play calls to the rhythm of the game," Greenberg added. "I’m a little nervous about [Williams'] ability to quickly process, the biggest challenge for any quarterback who jumps from college to the pros. But if anyone can help Williams make the leap, it’s Johnson and his coaching staff. At least that’s what we’re believing right now." 

Greenberg was referencing how one coach recently shared that Williams' processing "was alarming watching the tape" from the 23-year-old's rookie season. A different coach told The Athletic's Mike Sando that Williams showed "nervousness in the pocket" and an "inability to see and play on time." 

Williams should look more comfortable playing against what likely will be a vanilla Buffalo defense. If he doesn't, it could cause a stir in Chicago as the 2025 regular season quickly approaches.