Caleb Williams will play in his first NFL game on Saturday when the Chicago Bears face the Buffalo Bills.
Coach Matt Eberflus said Thursday that Williams will start in the team’s second preseason game, along with all other healthy starters.
As the first pick in the 2024 draft, Williams has had a mixed rookie training camp and did not play in the Aug. 1 preseason opener against the Houston Texans because the Bears rested all their starters.
The exact amount of playing time for starters has not been announced, but the Bears usually limit their starters’ playtime early in the preseason.
The goal is for Williams to continue progressing and to avoid penalties on offense.
“Just more of what we see now, where he is, in terms of the progress and this is his first time in live action,” Eberflus said. “He’s been getting a lot of good reps with our one defense so I think it will feel similar to him.
But I really feel that when it’s live there in the pocket, to be able to move, maneuver in the pocket, ride the pocket, escape on the outside, B gaps, all those things, be able to deliver the ball, keep your eyes downfield and really just the operation of it.”
Eberflus thinks it’s a good time for Williams to get game experience.
“He’s having some good days and some good periods and then some other ones that he’s learning from adversity and a setback,” Eberflus said. “I told him to just lean into that. When you have a setback or have adversity, don’t shy away from it.
Lean into it and then learn from it and then get better from it because a lot of people want to hide, shrink away from adversity.
“That’s not what we do; we lean into it and get better from it, invest our time, grow and improve, and that’s what he’s been doing.”
Players are looking forward to seeing what Williams can do in a game, even though practices have been inconsistent. One issue has been learning the offensive cadences, which has caused several false start penalties.
