Bears have reached a difficult decision with Caleb Williams after Week 5’s loss finally exposed Chicago’s QB room
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is aiming to make a Week 6 return from a hamstring injury and the team might have no choice but to see how far they can push him after Sunday’s loss.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams finally started making real progress toward a return over the weekend from his Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered back in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Williams was expected to miss three-four games and returned to practice on Friday as a limited participant. Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Williams went through an encouraging 30-minute throwing workout and looked more like himself.
The Bears still made the smart decision to hold Williams out of the game and it sounds like Williams is aiming for a Week 6 return against the Atlanta Falcons, saying he can practice throughout the week without any setbacks.
“He’s on track,” head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after Sunday’s game. “We’ll see if it’s Atlanta or after. I think it’s going to be close.”
Caleb Williams’ return couldn’t come at a better time
Without Williams, the Bears got the opportunity to show off the full stable of the team’s quarterback room and the brilliance of Johnson’s offense. In Week 3, veteran Case Keenum led the Bears to a win over the previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. The following week, Tyson Bagent led a win over the New York Jets. Both quarterbacks showed obvious flaws, but Johnson’s offense made it easy to cover up those issues.
On Sunday, the Bears started Bagent against the Green Bay Packers and his concerns were exposed. The Packers knew Bagent couldn’t test the defense down the field and took advantage of his lack of experience by rotating coverages after the snap.
Without the run game to keep the defense honest, Bagent was thrown into the deep end without a floatation device and quickly drowned against that unit. Finally, the Bears made the decision after Bagent’s second interception to put Keenum in the game. But, it was too little, too late, and Keenum didn’t fare much better recording two turnovers of his own.
“We’ll recap this game and we’ll make a decision going into next week what’s best for us,” Johnson said when asked which of the two backups would start in Week 6 if needed.
Bears now face a difficult decision at QB
Prior to Sunday’s game, the Bears were living in a wonderful mirage. Johnson seemingly had a QB-proof offense in Chicago and could find a way win with anyone at quarterback. That, in theory, gave Williams plenty of leash to work his way back slowly from his hamstring injury and avoid any further injury that could come from rushing back.
Turns out, without a dominating run game and high-level play on defense, these two backups aren’t as good as we thought. We’ve seen bad gameplans like that from Johnson last season, but it was Williams who was able to spark the unit and get out of those early slumps to keep games competitive.
Bagent wasn’t able to do that, and Keenum never got a fair chance to even try after entering a game that was well out of reach. It’s clear now the Bears need Williams back, sooner than later, but they also have to be smart about this.
If Williams can be a full participant in 2/3 practices this week with no setback, the Bears need to start him against Atlanta. Anything less, the Bears need to exercise caution. Luckily, the Week 6 game looks a lot easier after the injury Michael Penix Jr. suffered on Sunday night, saying he’s forced to miss extended time.
If Williams still isn’t ready to go and proves that throughout the week, the Bears should really consider giving Keenum another look as the starter against the Falcons. That’s firmly where I stand after watching Bagent on Sunday.
