Bears joint practice observations: Caleb Williams solid, not spectacular vs. Bills ‘D'

New York Times

a day ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson was eager to welcome a 'Super Bowl contender' to Halas Hall for a joint practice Friday.
'We'll find out a lot about our team,' he said in the morning. 'I know they're geeked up and ready to go.'
Quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears took on the Buffalo Bills' starting defense. Bills quarterback Josh Allen and company faced Chicago's starting defense, and we saw a spirited special teams battle during punting in front of the biggest crowd yet in training camp.
Here's a breakdown of our observations from the joint practice, plus a little reunion with former Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
CW18 🤝 JA17 pic.twitter.com/lqdwIpivOi
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 15, 2025
Before practice, Johnson was asked about the lofty goal of a completion rate of 70 percent. Williams isn't there in camp, but the coach did say it's improving after hovering around 55 percent earlier this summer.
Similar to last week against the Miami Dolphins, Williams looked sharp in seven-on-seven drills. He completed four of five passes in the first series, then five in a row in the next one. Wide receiver Rome Odunze high-pointed one of those, and Williams hit Olamide Zaccheaus in stride when 'OZ' was not his primary read.
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The first set of 11-on-11 drills didn't include many highlights for the starting offense. Williams had a couple of completions to wide receiver DJ Moore and was working with some tight windows. When the second-team offense took the field, quarterback Tyson Bagent found rookie receiver Luther Burden for a long gain on a back-shoulder throw down the right sideline. Burden did well to adjust to the ball and fight through a pass-interference flag.
In Round 2 for the first-team offense, rookie tight end Colston Loveland dropped a would-be touchdown that Williams fit into tight coverage.
'That was a great ball, great ball placement,' Loveland said afterward. 'Just got to make those. Nothing really else to it.'
After Williams had a pass batted at the line, he made one of his best plays of the day, finding Odunze for a touchdown at the back of the end zone. Odunze was going right to left on the back line as Williams went through his reads before finding him for the score.
'He's a heck of a player, route runner, strong hands,' Loveland said of Odunze. 'In the run game, you know, finishing, he does everything the right way. He's a guy I really look up to and talk to about a lot of things.'
The coaches put 1:08 on the clock and gave the offense one timeout, the ball at the 46-yard line and a six-point deficit. Williams had an impressive, tight-window throw to tight end Cole Kmet, followed by back-to-back completions to Zaccheaus. Then things stalled. The offense had a false start. Odunze made a leaping grab but was pushed out of bounds. Williams was sacked, then had to rush to the line to get one more play off, and his prayer to Odunze in the end zone fell incomplete.
Practice ended with a 'move the ball' drill where each unit got six plays. The starting offense had two false starts before Williams found Zaccheaus for a first down. After a nice run by running back D'Andre Swift on a cutback, Williams' pass fell incomplete, as he felt pressure from the defense.
On third-and-2, Williams hit Zaccheaus over the middle, and the veteran receiver took it the rest of the way for a 45-yard touchdown.
O.Z. said see ya ✌️ pic.twitter.com/2FdHJJ8N9X
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 15, 2025
Unfortunately, the starting offense failed to end on a high note. They still had two more plays, and one was a throwaway, then Williams was sacked after pressure from his blind side — Braxton Jones was at left tackle.
Overall, it was a solid but not spectacular day for Williams, and the offense still had issues with pre-snap penalties. Johnson said before practice that he wanted 'clarity' at left tackle. He probably didn't get that on Friday.
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Jones and Theo Benedet continued to rotate, while rookie Ozzy Trapilo stuck to right tackle with the backups.
'It's really play speed,' Johnson said of Trapilo's demotion. 'There are times where the feet have gotten a little bit slow at times, both in the run game and in pass pro. The mental of just speeding up, ball, snap, let's go ahead and get in a good physical position here to block the man in front of me, it's been a little bit of up and down.'
Johnson acknowledged that Trapilo has looked more comfortable on the right side this week, the position he played in college last season.
As for Benedet, Johnson said, 'He was probably overlooked to start this competition, but the longer this thing's gone on, there's a strong argument for what he's put on tape.'
Sunday night's game will be significant for the battle, one that Johnson isn't thrilled has lingered this long.
'We'd like to see someone go ahead and make it clear to us that he is that guy, and we just haven't seen that yet as a staff,' he said. 'There's been too much up and down.'
In welcoming Allen, the reigning MVP, to Halas Hall on Friday, the Bears' defense was put to the test. And although the Bears may have punched first, the Bills got the final word.
'It's good going against an MVP quarterback. It challenges you,' linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. 'You play this game to go against the best. He's playing big-time ball, so (we're) able to see what we are.'
In the opening seven-on-seven period, the Bears' defensive backs were immediately disruptive. Nahshon Wright proved to be one of the bright spots of the day. On Allen's second throw — an incomplete pass to wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson — Wright nearly came up with an interception. Later in the period, Allen's pass intended for wideout Keon Coleman was tipped, and Wright just missed the chance to snag it out of the air.
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Safety Jaquan Brisker was consistently on the ball throughout the day. In seven-on-seven, he nearly intercepted Allen's incomplete pass intended for tight end Dawson Knox, then he swatted down Allen's next throw.
Allen was intercepted three times, first in seven-on-seven drills by Kevin Byard III and then during 11-on-11s by Wright, who brought in the ball after it was tipped over the middle, but the play was called back on defensive holding. Edmunds came up with the final pick of his former teammate during red zone drills.
Another joint practice, another @KevinByard INT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QfQozzO2SI
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 15, 2025
Allen and the Bills offense soon found some rhythm, though. Allen completed back-to-back passes to Coleman later in the day, the second of which resulted in a 30-yard touchdown. Coleman badly beat Wright to get open along the sideline, then turned on the jets to haul in one of his multiple scores.
Edmunds wasn't ready to give the defense a grade, but he praised the competitiveness coming from both sides and said he needs to look back at film to find areas to improve before Johnson puts the starters in for Sunday night's preseason game at Soldier Field.
'We were able to come up with some takeaways,' Edmunds said. 'I think each time you get off the field and you've made big plays, game-changing plays, initially, you're going to think it's good because that's what we play the game for, to be able to set our offense up.'
Mitch Trubisky never got a chance to have training camp in front of fans at Halas Hall. He spent the first three summers of his career in Bourbonnais.
'I wish we would've had more training camps here,' he said. 'Nice little setup.'
This isn't Trubisky's first time facing his former team, but it was his first trip back to Halas Hall, where he spent so many days from 2017 to 2020. He visited with members of the equipment and security staff who were here with him, as well as chairman George McCaskey.
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'It's nice seeing old friends, nice seeing the facility,' Trubisky said. 'It just brings back a lot of memories being back here. Very nostalgic. Being in this indoor (facility), they put a lot of work in here. It's good to be back. It feels good, honestly.'
Trubisky met with reporters inside the Walter Payton Center. He's vying to be Allen's backup. Across the field is Williams, who is with his second coaching staff in his second season, similar to what Trubisky had to experience when John Fox was fired and he had to start anew with Matt Nagy.
'It's tough. I would think the No. 1 thing that helps young quarterbacks is continuity,' Trubisky said. 'But at the same time, it's exciting. Especially when you get an offensive mind like Ben Johnson. I think that'd be exciting for a young quarterback. So you just have to embrace it, obviously learn as much as you can.'
The 2018 season worked out well for Trubisky. The Bears won the division and he went to the Pro Bowl. Then came the struggles of 2019, the addition of Nick Foles, Trubisky getting benched in 2020 before returning and helping get the Bears to an oft-forgotten playoff game.
'I was proud of the way I handled it,' Trubisky said about his last season as a Bear. 'Adversity is going to come at you in all types of different ways. There are always going to be situations you can't control. And the way I looked at it was like, you just have to control what you can. Your attitude, your effort, being a great teammate.'
Those three things — attitude, effort, being a great teammate — were things that Trubisky's coaches and teammates always admired. That's helped Trubisky get to Year 9 in the NFL. While his time in Chicago didn't go as he hoped, Trubisky can look back and appreciate it, with a message to the second first-round QB since him.
'All eyes are on you in the city, but it's really a privilege,' he said. 'There's a lot of pressure that comes with that, but it's a privilege. I miss that. It's a lot of fun to be the franchise guy, especially in a city like this. I would say to have fun with it and enjoy the process.'
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Allen and Edmunds were fellow first-round picks in the Bills' 2018 draft class. Edmunds said he caught up with Allen after practice, though he didn't bring up the pick he snagged from him in the red zone earlier in the day.
'We talked, I didn't even talk about the pick, though,' Edmunds said with a laugh. 'That's my guy, we came in together.'
The Bills traded up to select Edmunds 16th after picking Allen seventh in 2018. At the time, Edmunds was 19, making him the second-youngest player ever drafted. Edmunds made two Pro Bowl appearances with the Bills in 2019 and 2020.
'It was good seeing some of the guys that I started my career with and the same staff I started my career with,' he said. 'Just kind of reminiscing on old times and joking around. … Whether you're on different teams or not, the relationships that you build, that's the stuff that you remember when you retire and walk away from the game.'
Edmunds, now 27, is entering his third season with the Bears. He wouldn't compare this defense to past years but said new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is 'aggressive' and that will be evident in the way this unit plays.
'That's something that's going to be able to set us up good,' Edmunds said.
Bears rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner was suited up for practice for the first time since injuring his ankle three weeks ago. He was limited, but it's a good sign for the second-round pick.
Quarterback Case Keenum did not practice. He has a leg injury.
Offensive lineman Doug Kramer, running back Roschon Johnson, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, running back Travis Homer, defensive back Tysheem Johnson and cornerback Kyler Gordon remained out.
(Photo of Caleb Williams: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)
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