Bears' Williams to get first live test vs Bills in Johnson's scheme

The Chicago Bears will give Caleb Williams his first live-edged test in Ben Johnson’s offense this weekend when they host the Buffalo Bills in a Sunday night preseason game. Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, is expected to start and play with the Bears’ first-team offense after sitting out the preseason opener and going through a camp that has featured both signs of progress and persistent questions.

Head coach Ben Johnson has made clear that rep volume remains a priority for Williams as the team continues to install a complex scheme. “Reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get him up to speed,” Johnson said, outlining a plan that previously pushed Williams well ahead of where he would have been if he had played in the opener. With a joint practice against the Bills on Friday and a different game-week cadence, Johnson indicated that the plan for how long Williams and the starters will play is still being finalized, but the initial expectation is that the players who sat out last week will see action this time around. “By design, we have made this very challenging and hard, and we know what we need to do as a staff to elevate some of that pressure,” Johnson...