Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams will not play in Thursday’s preseason finale vs. Chiefs

LAKE FOREST – Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will not play in the team’s preseason finale Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus announced Tuesday that most of the starters will not play Thursday. That includes Williams.

Thursday’s game kicks off at 7:20 p.m. from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. This will be the fourth and final preseason game for the Bears (who are 3-0 in the preseason). Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs starters are expected to sit out as well.

Williams has played 42 snaps over two preseason games. Eberflus previously said he anticipated Williams would play between 45 and 55 preseason snaps, but the head coach seems pretty happy with the results he has seen so far.

“Overall, I thought [it was] a good preseason for him,” Eberflus said Tuesday at Halas Hall.

In two preseason games, Williams is 10-for-20 passing for 170 yards with no touchdowns and no turnovers. On two rushing attempts he totaled 20 yards and one rushing touchdown.

But the numbers tell only part of the story. With Williams, it’s all about the way he has looked and how he produced those yards. The No. 1 overall draft pick has shown an impressive ability to evade tacklers and keep plays live. He demonstrated as much on his 7-yard touchdown run Saturday. He has also made some impressive throws on the run, including his 45-yard bomb to Rome Odunze.

Bears fans can expect to see Williams next when the Bears open the regular season Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field in Chicago.

So Williams and most of the starters will go about three weeks without game action. The Bears will have to continue to work hard to make sure that they’re ready to hit the ground running for Week 1.

“It’s really three things,” Eberflus said. “No. 1 is to stay in condition. We’ve got to stay in condition because we practice really hard. Maintain the fundamentals through drill work, through team work. And then stay healthy.”

Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagent also looked good Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He threw for two touchdown passes and helped the Bears beat the Bengals, 27-3. Bagent is likely to start Thursday in place of Williams.