LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Don’t expect many Chicago Bears players you know to participate in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.

Head coach Ben Johnson said quarterback Caleb Williams and most presumptive starters won’t play in the first of three exhibition games.

Johnson made that announcement Friday morning, just before a joint practice against the Dolphins at Halas Hall, stating that roughly 18 players won’t suit up Sunday. It’s hard to call this news a surprise. Johnson said a few weeks back that he valued joint practices against the Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills — the latter occurs next week.

Quarterback Tyson Bagent will start the game and should play the first half.

Johnson said the first unit will receive tons of reps during Friday’s joint practice with the Dolphins, making that session their game-like environment. There won’t be live tackling in the joint practice, lessening the injury risk some to players who will be heavily counted on during the regular season.

The Bears also have done plenty of live tackling during training camp, most notably during an intense Tuesday session that was as physical as any practice in recent memory.

The Bears have put in plenty of good work to this point and scheduled several tentpole evaluation moments over the course of the summer. They don’t need starters and virtual locks for the 53-man roster to risk injury or steal reps from those players who are battling for roster spots or specific roles on the depth chart.

That might change in the second preseason game versus Buffalo, but time will tell on that.

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