The Chicago Bears are squaring up for a Week 3 "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in what was shaping up to be an early litmus test for the two NFC playoff contenders.
However, the game's complexion changed when Bears quarterback Caleb Williams
suffered a hamstring injury against the Minnesota Vikings. While Williams' injury wasn't as bad as initially feared, the 24-year-old will still miss time.How long will Williams be out, and how will the Bears go about replacing him while he's out of the lineup? Here's what to know about Williams' status for "Monday Night Football" and beyond.
Is Caleb Williams playing tonight?
Williams has been ruled out for the Bears' Week 3 game against the Eagles because of a hamstring injury he suffered last week against the Minnesota
Vikings.
Williams was unable to participate in any of the Bears' three practice sessions ahead of their "Monday Night Football" game. He will now turn his attention toward trying to get back for Chicago's Week 4 game against the New York Jets, but it isn't yet clear whether he will be able to do so.
Caleb Williams injury update
Williams is dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
The injury typically comes with a recovery timeline of 3-4 weeks, though Schefter and Rapoport noted that Williams, a "quick healer," could beat that timetable.
When will Caleb Williams return?
Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters ahead of Week 3 he expects Williams to be "week-to-week" because of his hamstring problem. However, he wouldn't put a concrete timetable on the quarterback's return.
"[Williams] is right now working through every avenue that he's got available to get back on track," Johnson said. "This guy is a little bit different than the average human being. I said that last night, I'll double down on that. He gets back, in the past, a lot faster than what people can anticipate and so I'm not putting a timeline on this."
That said, if Williams adheres to the 3-4 week timeline outlined by Schefter and Rapoport, that would put him on track to return for either the Bears' Week 6 game against the Atlanta Falcons or their Week 7 matchup against the Chicago Bears.
Who is Caleb Williams' backup QB?
Typically, Tyson Bagent serves as Williams' backup quarterback. The Shepard product joined the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and quickly established himself as the team's top option behind Justin Fields before reprising that role under Williams.
However, Bagent was in the NFL's concussion protocol leading up to Week 3. As such, third-stringer Case Keenum was tapped to start the Bears' "Monday Night Football" game against the Eagles.
Keenum, 38, has a career record of 30-36 across 66 career starts with six different NFL teams. He has a career passer rating of 84.6 and enjoyed his best season in 2017, when he led the Vikings to an 11-3 record and an NFC championship game appearance while completing 67.6% of his passes for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Bears QB depth chart
Below is a full look at the Bears' quarterback depth chart, which runs four-deep, including their practice squad:
- Caleb Williams (injured)
- Tyson Bagent
- Case Keenum
- Miller Moss (practice squad)
As mentioned, Keenum leapfrogged Bagent for Week 3 because the Shepard product was in the concussion protocol. For those wondering, Bagent has a 2-2 record across four career starts, all in 2023. The 26-year-old has completed 65.8% of his career passes for 971 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions.
Meanwhile, Moss signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at USC and Louisville, and he completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,679 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions during his lone season with the Cardinals in 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Caleb Williams playing tonight? Bears QB's status for 'Monday Night Football'
