Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams to see first game action Saturday
Chicago Bears fans have been waiting to see their prized rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in game action since the moment he was drafted in April. This Saturday the wait is over, as head coach Matt Eberflus announced after practice Thursday that the starters will play in Saturday’s preseason matchup in Buffalo. Eberflus didn’t give a specific number of snaps Williams is expected to play, but he did state that the starters have a “range of plays” they will be on the field for.
“We want to see a good flow and a good rhythm to it,” Eberflus said regarding the starting offense’s first preseason action this Saturday.
Coach Eberflus announced that the starters will play against Buffalo this Saturday pic.twitter.com/icZlfdg9ug
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 8, 2024
The Bears didn’t play their starters in the Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans last week. This was the right call by Eberflus, considering the Bears play an extra preseason game this year due to their participation in the Hall of Fame Game. Aside from the Bears and Texans, this week will be every other team’s first preseason game. The last thing Eberflus and the Bears want is to give Caleb Williams too much exposure in games that ultimately don’t count, leading to increased injury risk.
That being said, Williams does need some game reps before the regular season starts, and he’ll get his first taste of NFL game action against the Bufallo Bills this Saturday. Williams’ offensive line will likely be without right guard Nate Davis, who has missed a majority of training camp up until this point with what’s considered to be a “soft tissue” injury.
Bears offensive line dealing with lingering injuries
Taking Davis’ place in practice reps has been Ryan Bates, who was previously competing with Coleman Shelton for the starting center job. Bates did get banged up in practice on Thursday, but as of now it’s not expected to cost him any time. If Bates is good to go Saturday, the line will consist of LT Braxton Jones, LG Teven Jenkins, C Coleman Shelton, RG Ryan Bates, and RT Darnell Wright.
There are a number of starters that the Bears will be without on Saturday due to injuries – cornerback Kyler Gordon, safety Jaquan Brisker, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, defensive end Montez Sweat, and the aforementioned Nate Davis.
The Bills will also play starters Saturday
As for the Bills, head coach Sean McDermott said that quarterback Josh Allen and the rest of the starters will play about a quarter on Saturday. This will be a good challenge for the Bears’ starting defense, although they’ll be missing a few key members with injuries. Saturday is an opportunity for Caleb Williams and the rest of the starters to put some of what they’ve learned during practice into play in real-time game action. Although it’s exciting to see the first-team unit in preseason games, the goal is to work out the kinks and fine tune everything in preparation for week 1 against Tennessee – when everything counts.
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