The Chicago Bears have done their best to go 2-1 without franchise quarterback Caleb Williams, who injured his hamstring in a Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But a convincing defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday — spurred by the sheer ineptitude of backup quarterback Tyson Bagent — made it clear that the Bears need their best player back sooner rather than later.
In his postgame press conference, Bears head coach Ben Johnson made it sound like Williams' return to the Chicago lineup could be imminent. While Johnson didn't want to make a 100 percent commitment to saying Williams will definitely come back for a Week 6 road matchup with the Atlanta Falcons because soft-tissue injuries can be tricky, he made it clear that Williams is close.
If anything else, the third-year quarterback sounds like he will be a game-time decision next Sunday at the absolute worst. Williams began practicing again for the Bears last Friday in a limited capacity.
That should be an extremely encouraging sentiment for the Bears and their fans to hear:
Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams and whether the Bears' QB is close to return vs. Atlanta:
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) October 11, 2026
"Yeah, he's on track. We'll see where, we'll see if it's Atlanta or after. I think it's going to be close."
Williams' possible return comes on the heels of the Bears notching consecutive wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets, before the reality of having a backup quarterback play too many weeks eventually caught up with them at Lambeau Field against the Packers. With the Falcons gaining steam behind the prolific Bijan Robinson, make no mistake that Chicago will likely need a healthy Williams firing on all cylinders to leave Atlanta with a win.
We'll see how the Bears quarterback progresses this week during what will likely be a pivotal ramp-up period at practices.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ben Johnson sounded optimistic about Caleb Williams returning to Bears against Falcons
