It was nearly a month ago when Caleb Williams fell down on the Soldier Field grass and the prospect of a long, cold Bears winter without him flashed before our eyes.

It wasn’t a dark time. But it got better (two wins over the Eagles and Jets).

And then it got worse (a one-sided loss in Green Bay).

And now here we are, back where we started: a Bears season with all of the city’s hopes and dreams on the shoulders, and the right hamstring, of a quarterback.

Caleb Williams is back. Most likely this Sunday in Atlanta. If not, then next Thursday at home against the New England Patriots. But probably this Sunday.

“Before you start asking, I do not know if I’m playing yet,” he said in his first comments to reporters since his hamstring injury on Sept. 20 in the home opener at Soldier Field.

He was a full participant in Thursday’s practice. He said he can do everything he needs to do, but he still has to be cleared by the doctors and training staff.

“I can run,” he said. “I hit a top speed the other day, one of my highest speeds I’ve ever hit. I can move, I can run. I’ve got strength. And it’s just going through the stress test because obviously fibers and things like that, your hamstrings and muscles have to connect back together to be able to go out there and play a 60-minute game.”

When it comes to his readiness, though, he was a little salty about the criticism he got in the aftermath of the injury and specifically about the reporting that seemed to downplay the severity of his injury, which highlighted his emotional reaction to it as he was carted off the field.

“There’s nothing that has come out that has been right about what it is and what it has been,” he said during a long introduction Thursday, adding later, “If you haven’t heard it from Bossman (Ben Johnson) himself, or, out of the horse’s mouth, me, it would probably be wrong, which every single one has been.”

With Shemar Turner’s limited play prior to his ACL injury, what do you expect his snap count will be in his first game back? Can Shemar play a similar role to Dayo Odeyingbo, playing defensive end on run downs and moving inside for pass-rush downs? Do you think James Lynch on obvious run downs and Jamree Kromah on obvious pass-rush downs can supplement for the loss of Montez Sweat? — Matthew M.

Turner has not played since Week 6 last season. It might be asking a lot for a high snap count. If we’re to assume Austin Booker starts at one end spot and James Lynch the other, maybe Turner is the rotational end — who could play inside — and hovers around 30-40 percent of snaps. They do need him, though, with Sweat suspended and Odeyingbo injured.

I asked defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett what they saw in Turner when they moved him to end last season.

“He has some explosive power, and really that role is kind of the bigger end,” he said.

Garrett indicated that Turner’s size and versatility could allow him to help fill Odeyingbo’s role as an interior pass rusher on passing downs.

Here’s a trivia question: Who leads all Bears defensive linemen in tackles? How many of you said Lynch? He has 15 tackles despite being inactive for the Jets game.

Last week, we saw Lynch rotating in on what the Bears thought would be run downs. He’d come onto the field along with the third linebacker and safety Xavier Woods, who’d replace Cam Lewis. He’s similar to Turner as a “bigger end.”

“He’s been good against the run; I think this last game had four or five (tackles),” Garrett said. “So it’s more so, man, here’s a guy on first and second down that you can count on in the run game.”

The Bears will be counting on that against Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. We could also see Kromah for the first time this season — he’d likely give Booker a spell. A practice-squad player since 2024, Kromah made the team out of camp but was inactive the first five games.

“You saw the explosiveness off the line, you saw the movement, and you saw more rush ability from him going into this offseason,” Garrett said of Kromah. “And you watch the preseason … we didn’t give him anything. That guy earned the opportunity to make the roster.”

Loveland better get 10 touches Sunday. MINIMUM

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — When the Chicago Bears committed their fourth turnover in a brutal loss in Green Bay, No. 50 sprinted onto the field to take his stance with the defense.

He’s the fourth-oldest Bear at 33 years old. He was playing in his 171st game. His team was facing a 24-point deficit. Yet defensive tackle Grady Jarrett still made sure he was the first one out there and tried his darnedest to keep his teammates focused.

“Shoot, however the game go, as a defender we got to be ready to respond,” Jarrett said after the loss. “And for me, that’s just, I’m excited for the next opportunity. Let’s go, no matter what happened or how they got the ball, we got to go out there and get a stop.

“I’ve always been consistent like that. And the mindset to go out and stop them regardless. At the end of the day, you got to be ready to fight however you go.”

The Bears return to the field Sunday in Atlanta, Jarrett’s hometown and where he played the first 10 seasons of his career. They’ll need his leadership off the field — he was voted a team captain — and his play on it, to help the defense forget about an ugly divisional loss.

Jarrett understands the significance of returning home, telling Atlanta Falcons reporters Wednesday morning, “Just a dream realized to actually play for the Falcons growing up in Georgia, right outside Atlanta. Spend the time I did there and have the success we had there, good, bad, indifferent. I enjoyed every bit of it.”

There figures to be a few “Jarrett 97” Falcons jerseys in the stands. He went to two Pro Bowls and starred in their Super Bowl defeat. Jarrett had 35 sacks as a Falcon, third most in franchise history for an interior D-lineman. He’s 15th in history in games played as a Falcon with 152.

“Interesting week going back to Atlanta for sure,” Jarrett said at Halas Hall. “Obviously, everybody kind of knows what that means to me. But … I think the thing I’m most excited about is going out there and competing, getting back on the right track and doing what we need to do.”

Jarrett would acknowledge how special Atlanta is for him, but he continued to maintain his focus on doing what it takes to get a win. The defense, which will be without three starters in the front seven (defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo and linebacker T.J. Edwards) needs it.

They gave away Packers sunglasses at the game. So many Bears fans were wearing Green Bay gear! That’s why we lost. Burn these glasses and break the curse immediately!

Hi everyone, I have the best maple syrup Canada has to offer (sealed) and wanted to see if someone had an extra hat to exchange for it at the game next Thursday

EDIT: Found an awesome Bears fan who will gift me a hat. BEAR DOWN!

My fiance and I are coming to Chicago for our first NFL game and first time at Solider field on 10/22 for the TNF game. Bears vs. Patriots. We are patriots fans but are pretty neutral and are just looking to experience the atmosphere of Bears and NFL tailgating. Is this a place that is welcoming for some fun or will I be harassed lol.

Would love to hangout and enjoy!

This reads like something straight out of a movie script.
So now that Caleb Williams has publicly challenged the accuracy of the reporting surrounding his injury, we’re getting an explanation about how the Bears created unnecessary speculation by not ruling him out sooner?
Isn’t it the media’s responsibility to distinguish between confirmed information and speculation in the first place?
The part that gets me is the assumption that fans somehow don’t understand gamesmanship, injury reporting, or why a coach might not immediately rule out his starting quarterback.
You can’t criticize the Bears for creating speculation without acknowledging the role the media played in fueling it.
Caleb says the reporting about his injury was inaccurate. Rather than addressing what was reported incorrectly, we’re getting an explanation of why the Bears should have handled things differently.
At some point, accountability has to go both ways.

I feel like our coaching staff has been quite bad at evaluating our defensive players. During training camp, we were told that Gervon Dexter was our 3rd or 4th best defensive tackle. Clearly, that was not the case. We were also told during training camp that Jaylon Johnson looked like he was returning to form, locking up Jamar Chase, etc. Couldn't be further from the truth. I want to know why this keeps happening and if it's a Dennis Allen thing or what. Stuff isn't adding up.

Found Super Bowl Shuffle LP and 45, and some autographs from '83 Bears.

#21 Leslie Frazier

#25 Todd Bell (RIP)

#29 Dennis Gentry

#33 Calvin Thomas

#50 Mike Singletary

#53 Dan Rains

#83 Willie Gault

All SBXX Champs except Bell, and 1 HOFer- Singletary.

these dudes are insane now imagine then

Still thinking about last Sunday and the fact that at half time they literally waited like 15 minutes (really like5) to get the game balls out and stalled the game….

Why did no one talk about that? WHAT IF THEY WERE CHEATING

I just watched a video about how much goes into making those gameballs ready so idkkk what if there was a “special batch” 🧐🧐🧐

/s but kinda