QB Caleb Williams joins mostly rookies on field as Chicago Bears wrap up OTAs

New York Times

a day ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — More than 40 Chicago Bears players practiced Tuesday at Halas Hall, the second-to-last OTA of the offseason.
This wasn't a week for veterans, most of whom began their vacation last Friday following mandatory minicamp. These practices were mainly for rookies and first-year players.
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And starting quarterback Caleb Williams.
'He's committed to learning the offense,' head coach Ben Johnson said. 'We're not where we need to be yet as a team and he understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, it sounds like he wants them.'
Williams and first-year pro Austin Reed were the quarterbacks. A few of the other non-rookies in attendance included wide receiver Rome Odunze, cornerback Josh Blackwell, safety Elijah Hicks, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens, and offensive linemen Doug Kramer, Bill Murray and Kiran Amegadjie.
Spring OTA practices are already voluntary, this set especially so, which says even more about Williams' attendance.
'It's great. He wants to get better,' rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite said. 'He cares obviously, about his team, about winning, about, you know, getting everything right, getting all the I's dotted and T's crossed. So it was great, you know, seeing him around the building is very important for not only the team but for the young guys to see, including myself, that you have leaders of the team always here and present, even when you know it's voluntary.'
A benefit for Williams is getting three extra days with the new playbook, technique and verbiage that comes with being in Johnson's offense for the first time. The staff has thrown a lot at him.
'We've loaded him up,' Johnson said. 'We've tried a number of different things: long play calls, multiple plays at the line. Tempo. We've dabbled here, there and everywhere really throughout the spring time and some come a little bit more natural than others for him, but I do think we've seen him get better in really all facets. We'll have to sit down as a staff before we leave and when we come back just to make sure we're honed in on what direction we want to go all together, but I feel pretty confident the things he's put on tape that we can go ahead and get after it a little bit.'
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The team drills and 7-on-7 reps were focused on the red zone and near the goal line, the area Johnson said 'takes the longest as an offense to get really good at the red-zone passing game.'
We saw a couple hiccups, with Williams throwing an interception to Blackwell at the back of the end zone, and another pass got deflected in the air and into the arms of a defender. But he also rifled a touchdown to tight end Joel Wilson right under the crossbar.
'It's tighter windows throughout, so we emphasize different types of throws,' Johnson said. 'Front pylon, back pylon. Front line. High-back five on the back line throws. And so there's some of those that you're working in a team setting or a 7-on-7 setting and you're just trying to find an open receiver and fit it in, but then when you're in routes vs. air you can really hone in on the detail of where you want to put that ball and the placement of that ball.'
Williams was 36-of-72 passing in the red zone as a rookie with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, good for a passer rating of 96.8 and an EPA per pass attempt (expected points added) of 0.18. Jared Goff, playing in Johnson's offense, nearly doubled that EPA (0.35), completing 65.6 percent of his red-zone passes with 23 touchdowns and no picks.
That figures to be an area where the '12 personnel' will show up most, giving Williams big targets like Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland.
Second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo got another day at left tackle with the 'starters.' While it wasn't Jonah Jackson, Drew Dalman, Joe Thuney and Darnell Wright, he was protecting Williams' blind side, while Amegadjie got the reps at right tackle.
'It's a really great opportunity,' Trapilo said. 'This is the perfect time for the coaches to do it. Rotate guys in. Like I said, there's no pads on or anything yet, so they're really just doing their best to get guys looks, get a feeling for it all. I'm going out there every opportunity I get, trying to make the most of it, and I think, again, it's really beneficial to be able to work next to guys that have played in this league.'
.@OzzyTrapilo is talking at the podium https://t.co/sLaDlxxjWi
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 10, 2025
Trapilo explained that learning a new playbook and technique on the left side was actually easier for him than the right, where he spent most his time at Boston College.
'I don't go flow state like I do if I were to go on the right side. I kind of just get in those habits, whatever I've been taught for so long,' he said. 'So on that foreign side, a little foreign, you're able to really hone in on the minor differences that these coaches want to see. So there's definitely benefits in that.'
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We'll see when Braxton Jones can join the competition on the field, but Trapilo got plenty of chances this spring — albeit, without pads — to show the coaches what he can do with the starters.
Loveland was in a red, non-contact 84 jersey on Tuesday, doing some route running on a different field as he works his way back from a shoulder injury. Johnson didn't know yet if Loveland will be full-go for the start of training camp next month.
Over Loveland's month in the NFL, it's been a lot of doing everything he can do while waiting for the green light.
'I would say I think what I can gather from the walkthroughs, from the meetings, is he's very professional,' Johnson said. 'He takes everything seriously. I think he's going to fit in really well once we start getting him to go full speed. I know coach Dray's said to me numerous times how impressed he is for the types of questions he's asking at his young age.'
Loveland has been able to lift weights, run routes and catch passes. He said the final hurdle is getting his strength and mobility fully back. Meantime, it's been a lot of mental reps.
'It's definitely the playbook,' he said. 'I obviously got to take care of things physically. But mentally, it's a lot. I mean, all you guys know that. But really diving into that playbook. It's one thing to know it but to go out there and do it in real time. It's the walk-through reps, the mental reps. I got to say, those are huge and crucial.'
Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III hasn't been on the field since rookie minicamp, as he deals with a soft tissue injury. Johnson does expect him to be ready at the start of training camp.
Johnson wasn't shy about what it means for a player like Burden to be sidelined for OTAs and minicamp.
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'He misses a lot,' Johnson said. 'I mean any time you're not out there, if you're in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you're losing valuable time, valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates; the ability to build the trust that we're talking about.
'It's not just the coaching staff having trust in you doing the right thing over and over, but also your teammates. They've got to see you do it. They've got to know the guy right, left of them, that they're gonna do the right things and they're gonna make the plays when called upon. So yeah, I think it's for everybody, and it's a shame that he got dinged up and missed all that time, because for a young player it's really where you get the most reps and you can get better in a hurry that way.'
The Bears will hold one last practice Wednesday before a nearly six-week break ahead of Johnson's first training camp as head coach.
(Photo of Caleb Williams: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)