GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Quarterback Caleb Williams could be back soon for the Chicago Bears.
Williams sat out his third straight game Sunday while recovering from an injury to his right hamstring. The Bears were clobbered in a 31-7 loss to the division-rival Green Bay Packers where backup quarterback Tyson Bagent was benched after throwing two interceptions.
Following the game, coach Ben Johnson said that Williams is close to returning, which could be as soon as Week 6 when the Bears play the Falcons in Atlanta.
"He's on track," Johnson said. "We'll see if it's Atlanta or after. I think it's going to be close."
The Bears host the Patriots on "Thursday Night Football" four days after they play the Falcons. They then have 11 days between games before facing the Seahawks in Seattle on Monday, Nov. 2.
Williams has been sidelined since sustaining a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Week 2, an injury that came with a three-to-four week recovery timeline, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Williams had his first day back at practice Friday where he participated in a limited capacity. After being listed as questionable on the team's final injury report, Williams was the first Bears player on the field Sunday morning around 9 a.m. CT and went through roughly 30 minutes of throwing and mobility drills.
He was ruled inactive before kickoff. Bagent started his second straight game in place of Williams and struggled from the start. The Bears had one first down and 13 yards on offense before Bagent led a 16-play, 78-yard drive that was capped off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by D'Andre Swift.
Those nine minutes and 10 seconds in the second quarter led to Chicago's only points all afternoon. Bagent completed 12 of his 21 pass attempts for 87 yards and two interceptions. He is the first Bears quarterback with less than 100 passing yards and multiple interceptions in a game since Tim Boyle in Week 18 of the 2022 season.
Bagent's struggles were particularly noticeable around his inability to move the ball downfield where he went 2-for-8 for 24 yards and two interceptions on throws of more than five air yards.
After throwing his second interception with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Bagent was replaced by Case Keenum.
"We felt like we just wanted a little spark there," Johnson said. "Tyson just could never feel like he got in a rhythm here today. We'll look at why that was the case. The second interception happened and we just felt like let's give Case a chance out there and see if we get different results."
The results were more of the same for the Bears offense which totaled five turnovers, including a red zone interception that Keenum launched at the end of his first drive.
"Obviously you would definitely not want to be benched, especially in a game like this, especially with the opportunity that I've been blessed with," Bagent said. "But end of the day, these things happen, I've got to play better. And like I said, got to look in the mirror, got to see where I can continue to get better because there's a lot of things still, even this far into my career, that I can certainly get back."
Johnson named Bagent the Bears' starting quarterback for the Green Bay game one day after the veteran backup led Chicago in its Week 4 win over the New York Jets. Though Johnson said that Bagent has "earned the right to be our number two quarterback," a decision on who will start in Atlanta should Williams not be ready is up in the air.
"We'll recap this game and we'll make a decision going into next week what's best for us," Johnson said.
Keenum threw for 108 yards and an interception in relief of Bagent. He also lost a fumble after being sacked in Green Bay territory late in the fourth quarter.
Keenum spoke words of encouragement to Bagent in the locker room, using his own examples of the struggles he's experienced over his 15-year career as a journeyman quarterback to encourage a bounce-back effort.
"You don't last very long in this league if you don't know how to get back up when you've had your ass kicked, and that's just the way it is," Keenum said. "There's really good players, really good coaches, really good teams and if you last long enough, it's just a matter of time. At some point you're going to get your ass kicked and it's not about that, it's about how you respond. How you respond the next day, the next week and every day after that. I expect him to respond like he knows how to, and he can. This is just adversity to learn from."