Caleb Williams Camp Update — August 23: First Live Answers Come Back Choppy
2026 NFL Season · Sunday, Aug 23
Williams finally threw against another team, and the week ended sack, sack, interception in the joint-practice two-minute drill, then two of five for twenty-eight yards in one series of a twenty-seven to nine loss. Three straight red-zone touchdowns were the bright spot. The accuracy question got its first live asking.
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Caleb Williams finally threw against somebody else's defense this week, and the closing sequence of Thursday's joint practice in Cincinnati went sack, sack, interception — backup tackle Theo Benedet beaten on consecutive snaps, then a high, late ball toward Colston Loveland that deflected to Bengals cornerback Jalen Davis, per Jason Lieser at the Chicago Sun-Times. The day was not all that. Williams threw three consecutive touchdown passes in red-zone work, hitting Loveland, Kalif Raymond and Kaden Davis, per Michal Dwojak at Shaw Local. But it opened with a botched snap from center Garrett Bradbury and ran all afternoon into Cincinnati's pass rush, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in particular, who also tipped and intercepted a screen. Williams's own summary of the closing pick, per Lieser: "I've got to bring the ball down."
Saturday added a short, unflattering coda. Williams played one series of the 27 to nine loss to Cincinnati's backups and went two of five for 28 yards — completions to Rome Odunze and Loveland, then three straight misfires, per Larry Mayer at the team's website. Ben Johnson afterward, per Patrick Finley at the Sun-Times: "It doesn't matter whether it's the preseason or not, it's a bad feeling in that locker room after the game when you lose, especially like that." The counterweight quotes exist too. Johnson, before Thursday's practice, on Williams's ball placement, per Lieser: "He's taken a lot of pride in where he's putting the ball... It's trending upward." And Williams on the week's value, per Dwojak: "It's definitely a test for us. There's different styles out there, different body types, they do things differently."
Back in June we read Williams's big passing season as built on volume, scrambling and scheme more than accurate throwing, with year two's accuracy the swing factor — and this first week of live opponents offered a little of both, red-zone precision and shaky accuracy under pressure, in a sample of one practice and five game throws.
What to watch: whether the protection problems Cincinnati exposed follow the offense into game-week practices, and how much Williams plays in whatever preseason snaps remain before cutdown on Sunday, August thirtieth. We'll check after cut day.
_Data via nflverse._
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