Caleb Williams still benefited from Hall of Fame game despite not playing

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams won’t make his pro debut until Aug. 10, when the Bears battle the Buffalo Bills in the official first week of the 2024 NFL preseason. Still, the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft earned valuable mental reps during Chicago’s weather-shortened victory over the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game Thursday night.

“Yeah, it’s his first time going through pregame, first time getting al the information,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “He was right there with halftime adjustments, so he got to see that for the first time. You know, it’s not college where you’ve got 30-minute halftime, and you can put a whole new offense. I mean, you come out running the wishbone. It’s fast.”

Good points, coach.

Bears QB Caleb Williams isn’t playing in the @ProFootballHOF game, but he’s going through pregame warmups like the rest of his squad. pic.twitter.com/NFAK0Vjqa5

— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) August 1, 2024

I was one of those guys who thought the Chicago Bears should’ve played Williams against the Texans (it was nice to hear Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman shared the same opinion). There’s no substitute for reps, so why not steal a few extra because of the extra preseason game?

Indeed, I do understand why the Bears are being cautious with Williams’ snap count. There’s no reason to expose him to an injury risk in what’s known across the league as the most insignificant preseason game.

Instead, the focus is on preparing Williams and the rest of the starters for next week.

“This is a big week for us,” Eberflus said of the days before the Bills game. “We got to really make strides. We got to have a sense of urgency. We got to get better now. We got to see that from everybody.”

Chicago Bears fans will get their first glimpse of Caleb Williams in action in Buffalo against the Bills on Sunday, Aug.10 at 1 p.m. EST.