Caleb Williams will not play Sunday against the Jets, and the Bears are still not saying who will replace him.
Williams was ruled out after not practicing again Friday, extending a hamstring injury that has now cost him a second straight game. The absence leaves Chicago with Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum as the options at quarterback, but head coach Ben Johnson has not announced which one will start.
That uncertainty is the point of the week for the Bears. Their own quarterback prep has been described as a group effort, with the idea that the room is built to keep moving even when the starter is unavailable.
“Every week we’re preparing each other to get ready to go,” one Bears player said.
Williams was injured in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ Week 2 loss to the Vikings, and Bagent stepped in before later suffering a concussion in that game. Bagent was cleared from concussion protocol last Sunday, which at least put him back in the mix for this week. Keenum remains the other option if Chicago decides to go in a different direction.
The Bears have leaned heavily on the run game while sorting out the quarterback situation. They enter the matchup leading the NFL with 184.3 rushing yards per game, a number that gives the offense a clear foundation even as the passing game waits for clarity at the top.
Sunday’s opponent brings its own pressure points. The Jets are without running back Breece Hall because of a quad injury, but they still arrive with a passing game that has been efficient early. New York is averaging 9.1 yards per attempt when using multiple tight ends, and quarterback Geno Smith has been one of only four quarterbacks with more than 50 passing attempts this season without an interception.
That creates a difficult backdrop for a Bears defense that is 15th in total defense at 324 yards allowed per game and 22nd against the run at 117 yards allowed per game.
For Chicago, though, the more immediate question is simpler: can the quarterback room function the way the team says it can when the starter is unavailable?
Johnson’s answer on the starter has not come yet. Until it does, the Bears’ preparation against the Jets will keep circling back to the same issue — whether a shared plan can create enough certainty for Sunday.