Just hours before the Chicago Bears were set to face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, Caleb Williams stepped onto the practice field and delivered an encouraging sign in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The 2024 first overall pick, sidelined since straining his right hamstring in a Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, threw passes and focused on footwork during a Sunday morning session roughly three hours before kickoff.
With Tyson Bagent already designated as the starter, the workout raised hopes that Williams could reclaim his role as soon as next week’s game in Atlanta.
Reporters on hand offered positive observations. Adam Jahns of CHGO Sports noted that Williams still looks to be working his way back but appeared in solid form during the throwing work.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky indicated that Green Bay was not expected to see Williams under center on Sunday, with Chicago aiming for a return the following week.
The session came after Williams had logged his first official practice on Friday, when he stretched and jogged in a limited capacity alongside the other quarterbacks at Halas Hall.
Bears coach Ben Johnson has described the recovery as proceeding on schedule.
Earlier in the week, he remarked that Williams is “a little bit different than the average human being,” and on Friday he said the quarterback remained “right on track.”
Johnson has kept the injury designation week-to-week rather than placing Williams on injured reserve, noting that the team has been advancing a throwing protocol every couple of days with no setbacks so far.
A Grade 2 hamstring strain typically carries a three-to-four-week timeline, and Williams has now missed eight practices since the injury occurred while he was running with the ball against the Vikings.
Chicago enters the Packers game at 3-1 after consecutive victories engineered by backup quarterbacks. Case Keenum started and won against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 after Bagent left the Minnesota contest with a concussion; Bagent then returned and completed a career-high 73.5 percent of his passes in a win over the New York Jets.
Williams is listed as questionable, though Johnson named Bagent the starter earlier in the week. Whether Williams will dress as the backup or only as an emergency option was expected to remain unclear until closer to gametime.
Through his first two starts of the season, Williams had completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 407 yards. He led the Bears to the playoffs in 2025 after a rookie year that included a league-high 68 sacks.
The organization has expressed confidence in his progress while continuing to manage the timeline carefully ahead of the stretch that includes the Falcons and a Thursday night home game against the New England Patriots.
