Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears’ starters, will play against Buffalo Bills on Sunday

Bears head coach Ben Johnson announced Wednesday that quarterback Caleb Williams and the rest of the team’s starters will play in Sunday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. The Bears will host the Bills on Sunday night at Soldier Field.

“Our starters are going to play,” Johnson told reporters at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “Everybody is going to play.”

The announcement came after a majority of the starters didn’t play in the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Most of the starters competed in a joint practice against the Dolphins on Friday, took part in a session before Sunday’s game, and then practiced again Monday.

Johnson explained Wednesday why this week will be different.

“Last week and really all through camp, I’ve been pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get him up to speed,” Johnson said. “By the plan we had a week ago, we were able to get him somewhere between 80 or 100 more reps than we would’ve been able to do had he played in the game. This week, it’s a different schedule, different length of time in terms of in-between games and all that, so our plan right now is the guys who sat last week, they will be playing this week.”

Johnson didn’t know how long Williams and the starters would be playing in Sunday’s game against the Bills. The team is set to host a joint practice with the Bills on Friday, and Johnson said that will determine Sunday’s snap counts. The Bears will have one final preseason game at the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 22.

Although they didn’t play in the season opener, Johnson said there’s value in playing the starters in the preseason. It’s a good opportunity to continue building trust.

It’s also a good way to get used to how gameday will be run with a new coaching staff.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie or a 10th-year guy,” Johnson said, “going through those steps with new staff, those are critical components.”