Bears QB Caleb Williams and most starters on Friday morning are seeing the only action against Miami they will have as coach Ben Johnson decided against using most of his starters in Sunday's preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.
Johnson said nine starters on offense and nine on defense will be sitting out the noon preseason game and Williams is one of those nine on offense to sit.
"I would suggest that we'll have them play at some point (in preseason) but that's to be determined," Johnson said.
Ben Johnson: “There better not be any fights today or they know the consequences.”
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) August 8, 2025
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Tyson Bagent will start at quarterback and play about a half.
It's Johnson's belief they're getting enough work against the Dolphins in Friday's joint practice, and if there's a question about needing more hitting then Tuesday's practice should have taken care of that. They went almost an entire practice then with live hitting for starters and backups alike—something almost never done in the NFL these days.
Getting work with starters on both Friday and Sunday as considered.
"You certainly could but we have in place a plan whether it's pregame or after the game the next day, they're going to be getting a substantial number of reps that's actually higher than the guys that are playing," Johnson said.
For Williams, it includes a throwing session prior to Sunday's game.
Caleb Williams on how he's learning Ben Johnson's offense, playing for a perfectionist, accountability in team meetings & why those who are already writing him off might be getting a handwritten note from the #Bears QB1. @fox32news
Interview: https://t.co/9MtweUBUUb pic.twitter.com/2bvyXWSaTx
— Cassie Carlson (@CassieCarlsonTV) August 8, 2025
They have their seventh padded practice Friday and are allowed four more in camp.
Johnson also revealed tackle Darnell Wright would be back at practice Friday after leaving Thursday's practice, but cornerback Kyler Gordon, who also left, is day to day.
Johnson made this decision even though the offense looks like it can use as many reps as it can get.
"We're inconsistent as a whole on offense," Johnson said. "You can talk to any position group. We really need to start playing more as a cohesive unit.
*bears hire the top coaching candidate*
“He’s dumb for not doing what I want” https://t.co/Mq1vkzV7dC pic.twitter.com/qNJ8o7cOOL
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"We're just, we're franklin not there yet. And that's the beauty of training camp. I think there's probably a lot of teams around this league that are dealing with the same growing pains."
Bears coaches have tried various approaches to preseason in the past and none seem to be any better than the others. Under Matt Nagy, they had preseasons when they did not use starters at all and came out looking dead, but others where starters played a little in preseason games and were good or bad relatively speaking. The same was true under Matt Eberflus, who tended to want to play starters at least a small amount.
Around the league, various approaches are being used. Johnson's former Lions colleague, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, plans to use starters against Green Bay in their preseason opener. Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor announced he'll use his starters against the Eagles.
The physical practice on Tuesday involved four skirmishes.
"I liked it and I think they enjoyed the practice as well," Johnson said of his players.
The fighting itself wasn't exactly what he wanted to see.
"To us as a coaching staff, what that was, you take the skirmishes out of the play, that's really what we are going to be about," Johnson said. "And so it was good to see our guys fight like that and we expect to play physically on Sundays and so we should practice that way in pads."
Mike McDaniel once coached Caleb Williams as a 14-year-old quarterback and has developed a strong respect for Ben Johnson. He’s eager to line up his Dolphins against the Bears. pic.twitter.com/aDvjIBqTdQ
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) August 8, 2025
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