Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said Wednesday he's feeling "pretty solid" with where he's at learning the new offense under head coach Ben Johnson, pointing to "protecting the football the past couple practices."

After their first two padded practices of training camp on Monday and Tuesday – including the team's first live tackling in camp in at least a couple years, according to nickel back Kyler Gordon – the Bears held a shorter, unpadded practice on Wednesday.

Williams had a crisp start to team drills and said he and his offensive teammates are trying to get to the point where they're not thinking so much pre-snap, as they work to learn Johnson's offense and its apparently extensive terminology.

"There's so many words that we have in our playbook, and you know you put so many words together that sometimes they kind of sound the same. So, just, when you hear a play, you start to hear the play, it's like, 'Uhh, okay, I know what the play is.' And so, I know exactly what we have. So it comes down to just a little bit more studying. It comes down to a little bit more practicing, a lot more reps, and things like that over time."

Just seven practices into training camp, Williams said he feels like he's in a good place with the offense and how he's performing on the field.

"Right now, I'm doing well with the process, whether that's before the snap, whether it's after the snap, whether it's footwork, all these different things. Protecting the football the past couple practices has been key and important. It's important in any season and any moment," he said.

On Tuesday, Johnson praised Williams for the work he's putting in behind the scenes, and said he's already seen growth in his understanding of the offense.

"His process is really clean right now. I'm talking about how he's preparing. I'm really pleased with it. He's doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we're starting to see the dividends being paid from it," Johnson said.

The Bears were down a couple offensive linemen during practice on Wednesday. Left tackle Braxton Jones had a scheduled rest day. Left guard Jonah Jackson is dealing with a leg injury and is day-to-day.