Apparently, Caleb Williams’ time with the Bears is not going well.
As we get closer to the Caleb Williams era, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has been clear about wanting to move past the team’s dismal quarterback history. It doesn’t follow that this iteration of the Bears will make the same mistakes with their quarterbacks that previous front offices and coaching staffs did. Correct? Really though, so far, so good. Regarding the Bears’ preparation of Williams for real NFL action, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin provided some positive details as part of a bigger piece on the NFL’s top rookies in 2024.
Coach Matt Eberflus was impressed by the rookie quarterback’s ability to “chunk information, put it into buckets, and operate,” as Cronin stated. “The Bears held very little back from their rookie quarterback as he began learning the offense.” “In order to determine what windows Williams could target and to make sure his feet timed up with when he released the ball, coaches urged Williams to experiment with different throws during OTAs and minicamps.”
Williams, a rookie after all, has undoubtedly experienced ups and downs, but he has also seemingly been able to use some of his early training effectively against a potent defense. According to the narrative, linebacker T.J. Edwards stated of Williams, “He moved us a couple times with his eyes.” “It got me and Tremaine [Edmunds] really excited the first day, but he’s definitely impressive.” You may be thinking, “Cool, but there are no pads,” on the one hand. It has no significance.
Perhaps there’s a small amount of “Duh.” Naturally, they are hurling him into the flames. Williams has been declared the starting quarterback by Matt Eberflus. There is no question as to Williams’s entitlement to every first-team rep. It would be negligence on the part of the Bears if they didn’t try everything in their power to get him ready for genuine NFL football. Yet that’s the main idea. To put it simply, the Bears are managing their young quarterback in the “right way.” (At least this far.)
You can be sure that this won’t resemble what Justin Fields had when he first joined the league in 2021. Williams’ route to the starting lineup is unhindered by any veteran, and there are no intentions to “bring him along slowly” at the expense of ensuring he has everything he needs to play the position right away.
The Bears seemed to have coached the aggressiveness and free-playing mentality out of Fields in 2023, to his detriment, though that may have been related to what they thought he could handle offensively. Additionally, Matt Nagy had Fields trying to play a more traditional style of quarterback as a rookie in 2021 as well, which didn’t always look like it suited Fields. It’s also important to note that the Bears are purposefully letting Williams test his arm and see what he can get away with right now.
Williams, on the other hand, will be able to use his unique skill set—being able to improvise and throw from any arm angle—right away in his NFL career. Williams plays with his right foot forward rather than his left, as you may have already noticed. This is in line with what he did when attending college. Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, among other quarterbacks who played for Shane Waldron in Seattle over the previous few years, were more left-footed in their play. However, it appears that the Bears want to let Williams do what comes naturally to him, which may be a helpful lesson from the previous administration.
In the end, the Bears are making every effort to demonstrate that they are taking good care of Williams, even if you have concerns about the team’s coaching and early handling of him. All we need to do now is see Williams in action. We ultimately will in about a month.