Damien Williams Update is Great News for Bears

Following a Week 6 loss, the Chicago Bears will attempt to get back into the win column when they pay a visit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Chicago is the underdog and will need all the help it can get, which is why the latest Damien Williams update is great news.

Williams has been sidelined since testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 14. However, the Bears announced on Saturday that he's been activated and will suit up against the Buccaneers.

Bears get RB Damien Williams back from COVID list https://t.co/K2lDjAC8vn
— NBC Sports EDGE Football (@NBCSEdgeFB) October 23, 2021

Damien Williams Injury Update

Williams is one of the players who hasn't been vaccinated against COVID. That means that he was forced to sit out of Bears activities for 10 days.

The one silver lining to Williams' bout with COVID is that he was dealing with foot and knee injuries before being sidelined. With nearly two weeks passing since his last practice, the hope is that those injuries have cleared up.

The 29-year-old was Chicago's lead running back after a knee injury sent David Montgomery to the injured reserve at the beginning of October. Williams has 198 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 42 touches in 2021.

Unfortunately for Williams, rookie RB Khalil Herbert seems to have stolen the job from him during last week's absence. The 2021 sixth-round pick rushed the ball 19 times against the Green Bay Packers for 97 yards and a touchdown while playing 89% of offensive snaps.

Even though Damien Williams is good to go for Sunday, the #Bears should still make Khalil Herbert the primary back, IMO.

He’s a younger back who’s shown more upside in flashes, and he’s coming off of a strong game last week. Give him more reps to prove himself.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) October 23, 2021

Regardless, Williams and Herbert can expect to have a tough day against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay has the best front seven in the NFL, giving up a league-low 54.8 rushing yards per game.

The game script will likely require Chicago to pass the ball more, which would benefit the veteran. After all, Williams has seen a lot more targets (13) out of the backfield than Herbert (3) this season.

The Bears are currently 11.5-point road underdogs against the Buccaneers, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Chicago's moneyline odds sit at +480 while Tampa Bays is the -650 favorite.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.