Ben Johnson won't rule out Caleb Williams against Eagles despite week-to-week diagnosis

Bears coach Ben Johnson officially described Williams as "week-to-week" after the quarterback underwent further evaluation on the hamstring injury that forced him out of Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The encouraging part is that Johnson isn't ruling Williams out against the Eagles.

"We'll see where he's at as the week progresses and how long that means," Johnson said. "But it was somewhat encouraging, the report that we got, so I'll leave it there."

That's a much better outcome than Bears fans feared when Williams went down without contact Sunday and eventually left the field on a cart. But it doesn't mean he's playing in Week 3.

In fact, Johnson said he doesn't expect Williams to practice this week.

Bears aren't putting a timetable on Williams

Johnson understandably isn't interested in predicting exactly when Williams will return. The Bears quarterback has started every game since Chicago selected him No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and his streak now stands at 36 consecutive starts.

Johnson believes Williams' ability to recover quickly makes it difficult to establish a firm timetable.

"He's right now working through every avenue that he's got available to get back on track here," Johnson said. "We'll see what that looks like."

Johnson then made it clear why he isn't closing the door on Monday night.

"This guy's a little bit different than the average human being," Johnson said. "He gets back — he has in the past — a lot faster than what people can anticipate."

The Bears have an extra day to work with because Philadelphia doesn't visit Soldier Field until Monday night, and that could matter.

It also creates an unusual situation in which Williams could conceivably miss an entire week of practice and still remain in consideration to start.

Tyson Bagent remains the contingency plan

If Williams can't play, Tyson Bagent will be next in line. And Johnson doesn't sound particularly nervous about that possibility.

"I feel strongly about what he's capable of, and our team does too," Johnson said. "They know he's a darn good football player."

Bagent completed 5 of 9 passes for 54 yards after replacing Williams against Minnesota.

He also gave the Bears one final opportunity to win the game, moving Chicago from its own 35-yard line to the Minnesota 12 before Dallas Turner sacked him on the final play.

Bagent hasn't started a regular-season game since his rookie season in 2023, when he went 2-2 in four starts.

The Bears have nevertheless invested heavily in his development and clearly believe he's capable of keeping the offense functional if Williams misses time.

Williams' status could linger deep into the week

The biggest takeaway from Johnson's update is that this doesn't sound like a decision the Bears need to make Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Potentially not even Friday.

Williams avoided the catastrophic injury that initially appeared possible when he went down Sunday. That's the important part.

Whether that qualifies as enough good news to put him behind center against Philadelphia is another question entirely.

The Bears are calling him week-to-week. Johnson doesn't expect him to practice. And yet, six days before kickoff, Chicago still isn't ruling out its franchise quarterback.

That's probably about as encouraging as Bears fans could reasonably hope for right now.