Bears head coach Matt Eberflus confirms the obvious relating to Thursday's preseason opener against the Texans

The Chicago Bears coaching staff has made their decision regarding Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans.

As head coach Matt Eberflus explained on Tuesday while addressing the media, the team will not be playing their starters in the preseason opener.

That includes rookie quarterback and first overall pick Caleb Williams, who shared interest in getting some early reps during the game earlier this week.

As a result, second-year quarterback Tyson Bagent will be getting the start at quarterback for the Bears. The Texans have yet to announce which players will start but have noted that the team plans to play a lot of younger players.

While many were eager to see Williams in game action for the first time since being selected by the Bears, the wait will have to continue and it's the right decision. The Bears will have a total of three other preseason games, plus a joint practice against the Cincinnati Bengals for Williams to get some quality reps in a game-like situation.

As for Bagent, the former UDFA standout from the 2023 season will get to have some game action for the first time since Week 10 of last season. Bagent started four games during his rookie season in place of an injured Justin Fields throwing for 859 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 109 yards and two scores.

Heading into Year 2, Bagent has been "grinding" in terms of his continued development and will take the reigns of Shane Waldron's new offense on Thursday.

“Coming into this year, it’s just feeling so much more comfortable,” Bagent said . “I can’t imagine what it would feel like if these were my first reps at the No. 2 getting thrown in. And I think, more than anything, I just gained a lot of people’s trust. It’s just them knowing that, besides my friends and family, nothing means more to me than the success of the Chicago Bears.”

In the nature of the preseason, the Bears will likely rotate Bagent out at some point during the game and give veteran Brett Rypien and rookie UDFA Austin Reed some work as well to really see what they really have in the quarterback room.

With the rest of the starters expected to not suit up as well, Thursday's game will be a big opportunity for some of the depth players to shine and set themselves apart from other players at their position. Seeing who shines, and who doesn't, against the Texans will go a long way toward putting together the 53-man roster .

Related: Preseason expectations for Caleb Williams based on recent quarterbacks drafted with the first overall pick