Chicago Bears training camp news: Caleb Williams would like to play in Hall of Fame game

LAKE FOREST – Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams would love to play in the Hall of Fame game Thursday, but he knows it’s not up to him.

The Bears will take on the Houston Texans on national TV Thursday night in the NFL’s preseason opener. The game is at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, before Saturday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The Bears have not said whether Williams will play, although head coach Matt Eberflus said he would announce his decision Tuesday.

The 22-year-old quarterback has been vocal about wanting to top Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl titles. With lofty goals, he no doubt has his sight set on landing a bust in Canton too.

“I would love to get out there and play,” Williams said. “It’s pretty awesome to be at Canton, but it’s coach’s decision.”

Williams also noted that every live rep is valuable, even if it’s just preseason action. Teams are always going to be cautious in the preseason, especially with quarterbacks.

“I always think there’s more pros than cons, if anything, especially for a young guy like myself,” Williams said. “The reps are always paramount for anybody like myself.”

I always think there’s more pros than cons, if anything, especially for a young guy like myself. The reps are always paramount for anybody like myself.”

—  Caleb Williams, Bears quarterback

In recent years, teams haven’t often played their starters in the Hall of Fame game. For the Bears and the Texans, the Hall of Fame game is an extra preseason game. It comes in addition to their normal three preseason games.

Eberflus has previously said that Williams will play about 45 to 55 preseason snaps. Spread across four games, that’s not many per game. A typical NFL regular season game averages 63 offensive plays for each team.

Whenever Williams does play in the preseason, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said he’ll be watching ball security closely.

“We’ve got guys trying to strip the ball, trying to finish the play on defense,” Waldron said. “So how do you react to that? How do you react to the collapsing pocket?”

Those things can’t be replicated in practice, when the defense is not allowed to touch the QB.

Waldron also noted that he wants to see how his quarterback operates when a play breaks down and Williams has to make something happen off script. Williams was excellent in those situations in college at USC.

Practice highlights

Following a long practice Saturday and a day off Sunday, Monday’s practice at Halas Hall was relatively short and light. The players were not wearing full pads Monday. The practice was focused largely on red zone situations.

The highlight of the day might’ve been two touchdown passes that Williams threw in a team session where he lofted the ball just outside the reach of defenders. He connected with receiver Keenan Allen on one and rookie Rome Odunze on the other.

The pass to Allen was over the middle of the field and just over the outstretched arms of linebacker TJ Edwards.

“I felt the pocket collapsing, and I felt a big gap open up,” Williams said. “The [linebacker] was too low, and I threw it over his head.”

The offense struggled with false starts Saturday, but responded well Monday.

“We had some struggles operationally, and then [we were] able to bounce back today and have a clean practice right there and be able to operate at a high level,” Waldron said. “When we are operating at a high level, from an operation standpoint, it’s giving all 11 players the best chance to play fast and play within every concept.”

Injury updates

After suffering an injury during practice Saturday, Bears right guard Nate Davis did not practice Monday. Davis is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Waldron said that Davis remains the starting right guard when healthy.

Other players who did not participate Monday included cornerback Kyler Gordon, running back Travis Homer, running back Ian Wheeler, defensive end Jacob Martin, receiver Nsimba Webster and tackle Kiran Amegadjie.

The Bears do not have to release an official injury report until Week 1.