The day the Bears began training camp last year, quarterback Caleb Williams said he was prepared for the ups and downs of his rookie season.
“I understand it’s Year 1,” he said then. “There’s going to be times it’s going to be tough. Times are going to be good. Tough times, you keep going. Good times, you also keep going.”
He didn’t know the half of it.
Williams took 99% of the snaps in a season in which the Bears lost 10 straight games and caused Matt Eberflus to become the first head coach in franchise history to be fired midseason. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was dismissed a couple of weeks before that, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made a fool of himself on a Hail Mary completion by the Commanders and Williams came close to becoming the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history.
This week, he begins his second chance. Bears veterans will report Tuesday to Halas Hall, where Williams is expected to be among the players speaking with reporters, along with coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles. The first training camp practice is Wednesday.
The stakes, both this week and beyond, are gigantic.
For Williams, this season isn’t a do-over. There were too many mistakes in 2024 — by him and by the Bears — to give him that sort of grace. Instead, his second season is a prove-it year for all involved: Williams, Johnson and the Bears’ front office, which green-lit both acquisitions.
Strange as it is to say, the clock is ticking. NFL teams are allowed to extend rookie contracts after a player’s third season. The Bears have two years to find out exactly what Williams can do.
As much as they believe in him, the stats don’t lie. He was 25th in passer rating among quarterbacks with at least 100 throws last year. The Bears finished last in yards and fifth from the bottom in points. Perform like that again this year — particularly while another second-year pro, Jayden Daniels, is starring for Williams’ hometown Commanders — and the Bears will have to answer serious questions about their quarterback and new coach. Fans might also be quick to remember that Williams and his father once debated trying to steer him to the division-rival Vikings in the weeks before the 2024 draft.
On the other hand, if Williams blossoms under Johnson, the Bears could have their quarterback-coach combination in place for the next decade. If he stays healthy this season, he could become the first Bears quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Even during last year’s circus, he threw for 3,541.
It’s easy to blame Eberflus and Waldron for Williams’ lost rookie year. But the only way to prove they were at fault is for Williams to be markedly, undeniably better.
The Bears spent their offseason building around him, starting by doubling their head-coaching salary to help lure Johnson. In signing center Drew Dalman and trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, then giving them new contracts, they invested heavily in protecting Williams. They were second-to-last in the NFL in spending on their offensive line last year, according to Over the Cap. This year, they’re eighth.
Poles built this year’s draft around Williams, too, using the Bears’ first-round pick on tight end Colston Loveland and the first of three second-round picks on wide receiver Luther Burden, even though the Bears had depth at both spots. The next of the second-round picks, tackle Ozzy Trapilo, could protect Williams’ blind side if he can beat out Braxton Jones, who’s still rehabbing after ankle surgery.
The Bears, of course, thought they had built around Williams at this time last year, too. But by the end of training camp, cracks were already starting to show. Players begged Waldron to be coached harder. Newly acquired receiver Keenan Allen, considered one of the greatest route runners in the league, couldn’t get in sync with Williams, whose accuracy was lacking, particularly on deep passes.
By the middle of the season, Williams was on a sinking ship, whether he knew it or not.
“It wasn’t at a point where I looked at it and was like, ‘I knew this would happen,’ ” he said. “Especially after you go 4-2 in the first six weeks, you don’t sit back and wonder and ponder on the bad.”
The Bears spent the offseason trying to get rid of the bad. Now is when they find out just how good Williams can be.
Johnson believes he has already laid the groundwork.
“I feel pretty confident, [with] the things he’s put on tape, that we can go ahead and get after it a little bit,” Johnson said.
NOTE: The Bears recently worked out six players, including veteran wide receiver D.J. Chark. A Pro Bowl honoree with the Jaguars in 2019, Chark had 502 receiving yards for Johnson’s Lions in 2022. After playing for the Panthers in 2023, he had only four catches for the Chargers last year.
