The Chicago Bears have made the final decision on starting quarterback Caleb Williams, ruling him out for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a hamstring injury he suffered last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Monday will mark the first regular season game Williams has missed in his NFL career.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent was back at the team facilities on Friday and returned to practice with the team on Saturday as a full participant but is still in the NFL concussion protocol. Bagent was listed as questionable. If Bagent clears protocol by Monday, there’s a shot we could see him be the backup against the Eagles.

As for the rest of the Week 3 injury report, running back Kyle Monangai (knee), kicker Cairo Santos (hip), and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hamstring) were all cleared to play. Offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo did not have any injury designation for the second straight week, but head coach Ben Johnson said he is not expected to play as he continues getting back into game shape.

What comes next for QB Caleb Williams?

This is still a difficult question to truthfully answer and maybe we have a better answer next week. Williams did not practice at all this week but intends to do everything in his power to come back sooner than later, but the Bears might be better off holding him back and resting him until he’s fully healthy.

“I know he’s an antsy individual,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there on the grass going full speed. So it is a little bit more challenging to hold a guy back like that. But if you could build a player, that’s what you’d want him to be like.”

While Williams did not practice this week, he was still heavily involved in team meetings and in the construction of the gameplan, which includes being out there for walk through. Even though he’s out, Monday will still be an important learning opportunity for Williams taking the backseat in a regular season game for the first time in his NFL career.

“I think (he) can sit there and watch a veteran quarterback and how they handle the huddle, how the handle the sideline, and what you can provide as an extra set of eyes on the sideline,” Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “We’ll see how that goes, it’s all to be determined. But, I do think there’s a lot of value in being able to sit and watch how other people run things. See how the flow of the game goes when you’re not as emotionally involved as you are being the guy that’s in the huddle, if that’s the way it goes. Any situation you come across, you have an opportunity to learn from.”

Case Keenum is ready to step up as the starter on Monday night

With Williams and Bagent out of practice for the majority of the week, veteran Case Keenum assumed duties taking first-team snaps with undrafted rookie practice squad QB Miller Moss working in behind him. Keenum, who last started a regular season game in 2023 with the Houston Texans, has been with the Bears since 2025 in Ben Johnson’s scheme and has full confidence from the team if his number is ultimately called on.

“I feel very prepared,” Keenum said. “It’s what I do every week. It’s what I’ve done for a long time. I’ve backed up a long time in this league. If my name’s called, I’m excited to be out there.”

Even with Keenum potentially at quarterback, the Bears aren’t expected to make any major changes to the scheme. He has plenty of history as an accomplished starter and plenty of experience in this system to operate at a starting-caliber level.

“He’s done it for a long time and at a high level,” Taylor explained. “He’s been through kind of every role you can be in in a quarterback room, from undrafted to a franchise starting guy to a backup to an up-and-down starter. And so I think all those lessons have really kind of molded him into the quarterback he is today… Now it’s really cool to see him get a little bit more opportunity here in practice and see how he handles it. If his opportunity comes, I don’t think anybody has any doubt he’ll be prepared for the moment.”