The Bears held a padded practice Thursday at Halas Hall that was closed to the public but open to select community groups. Here's what transpired:

The starters didn't get as many reps as usual because they will make their preseason debut Saturday against the Bills in Buffalo, coach Matt Eberflus announced.

"We're excited about that," Eberflus said. "Guys are juiced about it. We have a really good plan, a good process for that. We have a range of plays that we feel are going to be good for those particular groups. Not going to get into talking about numbers, but we want to see a good flow and good rhythm to it."

After sitting out last Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game with the rest of the starters, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will play in his first NFL contest Saturday.

Asked to assess Williams' progress in training camp, Eberflus said: "I would say he's right where he needs to be right now. He's having some good days and some good periods and then some other ones that he's learning from adversity and a setback. I told him to just lean into that. When you have a setback or have adversity, don't shy away from it. Lean into it and then learn from it and then get better from it because a lot of people want to hide, shrink away from adversity. That's not what we do; we lean into it and get better from it, invest our time, grow and improve, and that's what he's been doing. And he's got some moments out there today that he's going to need to do that, in today's practice, and I'm sure he's going to have some in the games."

One such moment came during a two-minute drill late in Thursday's practice when Williams was intercepted by veteran safety Kevin Byard III.

"It's the exposure and the experience that we can give him throughout the course of this camp, the reps in preseason, the joint practice [with the Bengals] next week," Eberflus said. "All those are very valuable."

Nothing to worry about

Tight end Marcedes Lewis, who has seen it all while playing 19 NFL seasons, isn't concerned about the offense's ups and downs during recent practices.

"Obviously, with a young quarterback we're going to have those moments," Lewis said. "In the passing game, it's about being cohesive and the timing of it all. We're still working out those kinks. But as far as what we will be able to do, we're not even really worried about it. We've got the guys in the position to do the work and we're just going to lean on the work. Not every day is going to be beautiful out there, but if you keep working through it, come September we will be just fine. We've got plenty of time."

Lewis is so confident in the offense in large part due to what he sees in Williams.

"It's his attitude," Lewis said. "He's definitely my type of guy. He wants to be great. He asks the right questions. He's a guy that can kind of navigate through the tight spots to have real conversations with the older guys and then really float in that space with the younger guys that are around him.

"He's a special kid and I feel like as long as he keeps that about him, he's not going to have any issues. It's his mindset that will get him through these things that we are going through in camp and being able to just roll with the punches. He has shown that. He doesn't lack confidence, so it has been really impressive."

Lewis feels that Williams possesses the traits and intangibles to excel in the NFL.

"Regardless of where you're drafted, you can see if somebody has it," Lewis said. "Like just watching him move around, his fundamentals, his mechanics, certain throws that he makes, it looks easy. The off-platform stuff, he's just different. He has it. It's going to be up to us to make sure we're doing everything in our power to make sure it's easy for him so he can go out there and create and do his thing. I think it starts upstairs first and mentally, he's on another level. And so your body is just going to follow what your mind tells it."

A day at camp

On back-to-back plays Thursday, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent rifled a pass to receiver Tyler Scott between two defenders and completed a deep throw to receiver Nsimba Webster down the right sideline on a free play due to an offside penalty against the defense.

Safety Elijah Hicks later showed his ball skills on back-to-back plays, registering an interception and a pass breakup.

Receiver Freddie Swain caught a pair of 16-yard passes from Bagent on back-to-back snaps during the No. 2 offense's two-minute drill. Swain sustained the drive by leaping high to snatch the ball away from a defensive back on third-and-seven and followed with a reception over the middle.

Return trip

It's just a preseason game, but Saturday's contest in Buffalo will be the first for linebacker Tremaine Edmunds against his former team since he left the Bills to sign with the Bears last year.

Edmunds spent his first five NFL seasons with the Bills after being selected with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2018 draft out of Virginia Tech. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 and was named a Bills captain in 2019.

"It's my first time going back since I left, so obviously there will be a lot of emotions," Edmunds said. "But it should definitely be a good time … I was there for five years. Just getting back there, it's going to be exciting."

Injury update

Eberflus said that nickel back Kyler Gordon is "getting close" to returning to practice from an injury he sustained before training camp.

"We feel good where he is," Eberflus said. "This is something that in training he did and then came in with it. We're making sure that it's right, and there's also a delicate balance here because we have to make sure it's right but also he's working hard, diligently to get back because we know we have to have that conditioning level, the playing with the other players in terms of the continuity for that unit to be able to thrive the way we want to. We have to get him back as soon as possible. He understands that. He's working to get there."

Eberflus revealed that right guard Nate Davis suffered a setback in his quest to return from an injury and is week-to-week.

"We had him back in there," Eberflus said. "It was individual and then some reps and then he felt it again. He's dealing with some soft tissue stuff, so we had to bring him back now. We'll start that process over and see where it goes."

Eberflus added that long-snapper Patrick Scales is sidelined due to a back issue but added "he's on track" to return.