Caleb Williams won't play in Bears' first preseason game despite reports of inconsistent training camp

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson revealed on "Hoge & Jahns" that quarterback Caleb Williams will not play in the team's first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. Williams, as well as other starters that will be held out, will get plenty of work in joint practice sessions with Miami leading into Sunday's game, however. 

"We have a number of things scheduled around the game for those guys that aren't playing, whether it's the day before or the day after" Johnson said. "We're actually going to end up getting more reps for them than they would've had we played them Week 1 in this game. I'm actually really excited about that." 

Williams has been a bit of a polarizing figure ahead of his second season in Chicago. Early training camp reports suggested he was struggling with picking up Johnson's complex offense, though Johnson was quick to praise Williams' mental growth  and preparation. Then, practice video surfaced of Williams showing frustration after missing on four consecutive throws to net targets during a passing drill. Bears general manager Ryan Poles downplayed the whole situation. 

"I actually think it's pretty cool," Poles said of the reaction to the footage, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "I knew there was a bad practice. I've seen clips on Twitter. I didn't know it was a national crisis of Caleb struggling."  

In spite of an apparent up-and-down offseason, Williams, a former Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, showed plenty of promise as a rookie. He was the first Bears quarterback to start every game of the season since Jay Cutler in 2009, and he set an NFL rookie record by logging 354 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. His 351 completions, 3,541 yards passing and 20 touchdown passes were all franchise rookie records, as well.