CHICAGO -- Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is considered "week-to-week" with a right hamstring injury he sustained in a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, coach Ben Johnson said Monday afternoon.
However, Johnson said he was not yet ruling Williams out for next Monday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles despite the fact he does not expect the quarterback to practice this week.
Earlier on Monday, during an appearance on ESPN 1000, Johnson said he anticipated Williams would be sidelined for "some time."
Johnson clarified later with reporters that the team is saying week-to-week to be safe.
"He's right now working through every avenue that he's got available to get back on track here. We'll see what that looks like. Here's what I know. This guy's a little bit different than the average human being. I said that last night, I'll double down on that. He gets back -- he has in the past -- a lot faster than what people can anticipate and so I'm not putting a timeline on this. We're going to say week-to-week. He's going to attack this with everything that he knows," Johnson said.
Williams underwent an MRI on Monday morning to assess the severity of his hamstring injury. Johnson said the news the Bears received on Williams' hamstring injury was "somewhat encouraging."
If Williams can't play next Monday, backup Tyson Bagent would start.
Bagent has been the Bears' backup quarterback since signing with the team in 2023 as an undrafted free agent. The Division II product from Shepherd University started four games during his rookie season three years ago but has only seen a handful of snaps in cleanup action after Williams was drafted in 2024.
Bagent's most recent game action came in the preseason with starts against the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. Johnson called plays for Bagent in the first half of those games before turning playcalling duties over to his assistant coaches.
"I would be a lot more concerned if I didn't have a year and a half under our belts together now, and so I've seen them every single day in practice," Johnson said of Bagent. "We've had a lot of reps during the course of training camp and in the preseason. So if it goes that route, I feel strongly about what he's capable of and our team does, too. They know he's a darn good football player. He's won games in the past. Him and Case [Keenum] both have won games in this league. There's a lot of confidence that both of those guys can get the job done if it comes to it."