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LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Caleb Williams will see his first NFL game action Saturday when the Chicago Bears play at the Buffalo Bills.
Coach Matt Eberflus said Thursday that the quarterback will start the team's second preseason game, along with all other starters who are healthy.
The first pick of the 2024 draft, Williams has had an up-and-down rookie training camp and did not play in the Aug. 1 preseason opener against the Houston Texans as all Bears starters were rested.
The amount of playing time for starters is not being announced but in the past the Bears have limited the starters' play totals early in the preseason.
The goal is continued progress by Williams 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 see game action.
“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 excited to see what Williams can do when given the chance, even though practices have been hit or miss. One particular problem has been mastering the offensive cadences and this has led to numerous false start penalties.
“It’s his mindset that will get him through these things that we are going through in camp, and being able to just roll with the punches,” said Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis. "He has shown that. He doesn’t lack confidence, so it has been really impressive.”
Eberflus had hedged on announcing Williams as starter because of a rash of offensive line injuries over the past week. Without his starting line, the Bears coach is concerned about the blocking for his starting quarterback.
However, on Thursday, the only injured starting lineman was guard Nate Davis and he has been unavailable much of training camp due to an injury. Davis is listed as week to week.
NOTES: Defensive starters Montez Sweat, Jaquan Brisker, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon are likely to join Davis among the non-starters Saturday for the Bears due to injuries.
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