Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and some players met with reporters at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on Tuesday as they returned to work after their bye week.

The Week 5 bye might’ve come at a good time for the Bears despite being early in the season. Not only did some key starters get an extra week to recover from their injuries, but Johnson and his coaching staff got a chance to evaluate where the team is after four weeks and what changes need to be made.

Now, Chicago will turn its attention to getting ready for the Monday Night Football game at the Washington Commanders. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Tuesday.

On where Caleb Williams, offense stand

The Bears’ offense gave glimpses into what it could be during the first four games of the season. But it also showed there’s plenty of work left to be done to consistently play at a high level.

Johnson said he saw that inconsistency when he watched offensive film from the first part of the season. He called the offense a “work in progress” and something that will need to be fixed by everyone on the offense.

A major reason for the inconsistency was offensive penalties. Through five weeks, the Bears rank 18th with 278 offensive penalty yards and tied for 20th with 34 offensive penalties according to Pro Football Reference despite only playing four games.

Quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense found ways to overcome those self-inflicted mistakes by succeeding in the dropback passing game. Williams led the offense on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter against the Raiders and played his best game of the season when he threw four touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys.

But Johnson knew playing that type of football would lead to consistent winning.

“I give the guys a lot of credit,” Johnson said. “I did feel like we were pretty good at getting back on track as much as we could, but it’s just not sustainable when you’re playing football that way, and so that’s going to be an emphasis for us going forward.”

The Bears will need to make improvements to get the offense to the level Johnson wants it. Chicago’s running game struggles have impacted how successful Williams can be with the play-action, which Johnson said is where teams get a lot of explosive plays. The screen game needs to be cleaned up as well.

But Johnson was encouraged by what he’s seen from Williams through four weeks and where he can go from here.

“I think Caleb has grown each and every week,” Johnson said. “He’s getting more comfortable calling the plays in the offense. I’m really excited about what the next, call it the second quarter of the season, is going to look like.”

On offensive line position battles

Chicago returned from the bye with questions at both of their starting offensive tackle positions. Tuesday didn’t reveal many answers.

Johnson seemed to restart the battle for the starting left tackle job against the Las Vegas Raiders when he took out starter Braxton Jones and put in Theo Benedet. The two had battled it out for the starting job along with rookie Ozzy Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie during training camp before Jones was named the starter at the start of the season.

The job will likely come down to Jones and Benedet, with Amegadjie on injured reserve and Trapilo playing well at right tackle. But Johnson didn’t tip his hand on who it would be.

“We have a good idea of who our left tackle is going to be,” Johnson said.

The status at right tackle remains a question, too. Starter Darnell Wright didn’t take part in practice Tuesday after missing the Raiders game with an elbow injury. Trapilo made his season debut at right tackle against the Raiders when Johnson moved Benedet over to left tackle.

Johnson has been impressed by what he’s seen from the second-round pick from this year’s draft. Trapilo held his own against Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and helped limit the damage after a poor start by the line. Johnson was so impressed that he didn’t rule out that Trapilo could challenge for the starting job once Wright comes back.

“Absolutely,” Johnson said. “He’s a really good player. I think he’s really settled in on that right side. I’m really looking forward to all those tackles getting healthy and getting after it again.”

On key injuries

The Bears got a step closer to getting a few injured players back Tuesday.

Chicago activated the 21-day practice window for both defensive end Austin Booker and running back Travis Homer on Tuesday. They were both placed on injured reserve at the start of the season and could return against the Commanders.

Both players should provide a boost in their respective position groups, who’ve had tough starts. Booker had a strong preseason, where he had four sacks in two games before he injured his knee against the Buffalo Bills.

“He was a guy that was able to affect the quarterback,” Johnson said. “That’s something that we talked about as a unit here [Tuesday]. Points of emphasis, where can we improve? Obviously, it’s the penalties, it’s the run game, but affecting the quarterback, we’re not doing a good enough job of it. That’s really where I saw Booker making the biggest impact there in the preseason. We’ll have to see where he is now back on the practice field.”

The Bears also had some good injury news at Tuesday’s practice. Linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback Kyler Gordon both took part after missing games with hamstring injuries. Gordon told reporters Tuesday that he plans to make his season debut against the Commanders.

“I think Caleb has grown each and every week. He’s getting more comfortable calling the plays in the offense. I’m really excited about what the next, call it the second quarter of the season, is going to look like.”

—  Ben Johnson, Bears head coach on Caleb Williams

Chicago was without Wright, rookie tight end Colston Loveland, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, safety Jaquan Brisker and kicker Cairo Santos. The team will release an estimated injury report Thursday.