Caleb Williams stood on the sideline in sweats Wednesday, watching Chicago’s walkthrough from the outside, as coach Ben Johnson still would not commit to a Week 4 starter against the Jets. The development indicated that Williams was still at least two weeks from returning, and probably more.
The Bears are looking to build a winning streak after a convincing 27-7 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night with a red-hot backup quarterback, and the franchise passer whose hamstring is still keeping him out of action.
Williams did not take part in Wednesday’s session, according to The Athletic’s Adam Hoge, who reported the quarterback remains without a practice rep since his Sept. 20 injury. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley confirmed the same absence.
“He’s getting better every single day,” Johnson said, according to Hoge, though the coach again declined to name a Sunday starter, reiterating that the Bears will play whichever of their three quarterbacks gives them the best chance to win.
Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams Hamstring Injury Timeline
Williams went down on a non-contact scramble around left end, first-and-goal from the 6, late in the fourth quarter of a 9-3 loss to the Vikings on Sept. 20. He was carted off, and the moment snapped his run of eight straight games with multiple touchdown passes, according to the team’s official recap.
The diagnosis arrived as a Grade 2 strain, an injury that typically sidelines a player a month or more, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago has resisted that outlook, sticking with a vaguer “week-to-week” label instead of placing Williams on injured reserve, a move that would force a minimum four-game absence.
“This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being,” Johnson said in comments carried by the team site. “He gets back — he has in the past — a lot faster than what people can anticipate. I’m not putting a timeline on this.”
Williams did not practice at all during Eagles week and was ruled out for Monday Night Football, the first missed start of his career since Chicago made him the No. 1 overall pick out of USC in 2024.
Bears’ Case Keenum Performance Fuels QB Decision
Starting for Williams, with Tyson Bagent only cleared from concussion protocol that Sunday, 38-year-old Case Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, adding a rushing score in a 27-7 rout of Philadelphia, per the team’s game recap. The 110.8 passer rating came in his first regular-season action since 2023.
The 1-yard sneak made Keenum the oldest player in franchise history to score a rushing touchdown, at 38 years and 223 days, breaking a mark held by Dave Krieg, NFL.com noted.
“As a kid you dream about it,” Keenum said, describing the offseason grind that kept him ready for a shot he wasn’t sure would come.
“It’s all about Case Keenum and what he was able to do here tonight,” Johnson said postgame. “He played really efficient football, and I couldn’t be more proud of him for that.”
Johnson had said Bagent earned the No. 2 job “for a reason,” but after Monday he would not commit to reinstalling him even with the backup fully healthy, Sun-Times columnist Jason Lieser wrote. Keenum called the chance to do it again “the best part of the NFL.”
Chicago improved to 2-1 and hosts a rebuilding Jets defense Sunday. Johnson has indicated he will settle on a starter before the Bears’ first full practice. Williams, for now, remains a spectator to his own competition.
Caleb Williams Injury Update: Latest Development From Bears Practice Today