Bears' preseason game against the Bills just became must watch TV thanks to Caleb Williams news

The Chicago Bears have made the official decision on whether or not the team will be playing the starters during Saturday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

According to head coach Matt Eberflus, the starters who are available will play in the second preseason game in some capacity, including quarterback Caleb Williams.

As for the Bills, head coach Sean McDermott said on Thursday that the team's starters, including quarterback Josh Allen, will play roughly one quarter during the game.

"We have a range of plays that we feel are going to be good for those particular groups," Eberflus said . "Not going to get into talking about numbers but we want to see a good flow and a good rhythm. The starters that are available to us will play."

Sunday's game will be the first look at the Bears' first overall pick in action during a live game. Williams and the rest of the starters sat out during the Hall of Fame Game last week against the Houston Texans.

"I think all of us are [excited about Williams debut]," linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. "Just getting those live reps, I know how essential that is. I'm excited from him just to see how it feels. I understand all the success that he's had, but the NFL is different. Just so he can feel how that is and get that full experience is going to help him out. I got a ton of respect for him and a ton of confidence in him."

Following Wednesday's practice, Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron noted that there are signs of progress from Caleb Williams and that he's close to putting it all together. The reps in Saturday's game will just be the next step in his development.

"When we watch him and watch him go through his reads and his progressions right there, going to where the ball should go is happening more times than not," Waldron explained . "And some of the things that haven't worked out have been from just a near miss here or an angle wasn't feeling it the right way there... He has been doing a good job reading with his feet, sticking within progression, recognizing coverage structures. So, seeing all those things is what really gives you the confidence moving forward."

The main factor going into making the decision to let Williams take the field this weekend was the health on the offensive line, which has looked a lot better over the last two days compared to the beginning of the week .

The starting group up-front protecting Williams will likely be Braxton Jones at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton at center, Ryan Bates at right guard, and possibly Darnell Wright at right tackle. Jenkins, who missed some time earlier in the week, is eager to play with the rest of the starters.

"It's a double-edged sword no matter which way you go with it. Like, of course, you want to take care of your body throughout camp and the preseason, but at the same time, you need those reps to get better," Jenkins said. "And Caleb also benefits from having those reps having the [starting] line out there as well, so as long as he is out there, I want to be out there helping to protect him as well."

As for the other injury statuses up-front, Nate Davis returned some to practice earlier in the week, but is still working through his rehab progression after suffering a setback. Bates also walked off the field early on Thursday with trainers during practice.

It'll also be interesting to see which weapons take the field during Saturday's game at Williams' disposal. The only player who could sit out against the Bills is wide receiver Keenan Allen. At 32-years-old, Allen might not need the reps compared to the younger players on the roster, considering his connection with his new quarterback already seems to be solid.

"Obviously it'll be huge for Caleb seeing live bullets, seeing defenses that we haven't seen all of training camp," Allen said. "Our guys, they kind of know what they're running now, they've seen it multiple times. We kind of know what to do, what to expect. When you get out there in the preseason, you have no idea what [other defenses] are going to do."

As for the defense, the Bears had multiple starters out of practice on Thursday including Montez Sweat, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, and Tyrique Stevenson. We'll see which of those players are able to suit up or not on Saturday.

Personally, how the Bears handle the backfield workload will be intriguing to me. D'Andre Swift sat out the opening preseason game while Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert split drives with the backups. How will the backfield share look on Saturday with the starters on the field, and could we see Velus Jones Jr. get some looks at RB ?

Related: Bears roster hopeful seen practicing with a new position group to further boost his roster chances