Caleb Williams' negative perception of Bears was right and that's why they need Ben Johnson to succeed
The Chicago Bears' problem is that nothing Caleb Williams or his father said about them was wrong.
The story that Williams tried to steer his way out of being drafted by the Bears last year isn't new, but there are some new details revealed in an ESPN preview of Seth Wickersham's upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." Among the details was the Williams family wondering if Caleb could play a season in the United Football League and then enter the NFL as a free agent in 2025. That's desperation to avoid Chicago.
"Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Caleb's father Carl Williams said in the book.
Chicago fans or those who disapprove of player empowerment in general might get mad that Caleb Williams contemplated trying to circumvent the draft. But the truth is, he thought about it because Chicago is where quarterbacks go to die. And nothing about how the Bears handled Williams' rocky rookie season changed that perception either, starting with saddling him with a defensive-minded head coach already on the hot seat.
The Bears needed to hire Ben Johnson to help fix years of quarterback futility. And now they need him to succeed. Badly.
Through the early part of the offseason, there were reports that the Bears might not pay up for a top coaching candidate. There was an abundance of speculation that Johnson, considered either the best candidate on the market or second behind Mike Vrabel, would go to the Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson had great seasons as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator and was in high demand.
The Bears stepped up and got the deal done to hire Johnson. Maybe they realized they were in danger of completely alienating an elite prospect who was supposed to finally dig the franchise out of its horrific quarterback history.
In the book preview, the Williams family was skeptical of then-Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and their skepticism proved to be correct. In one startling passage, Williams said he would watch film alone without any coaching guidance.
"No one tells me what to watch," Caleb Williams told his dad, via Wickersham's book. "I just turn it on."
Johnson was brought in to change that culture, which has been a reason Bears quarterbacks haven't succeeded for decades. And if you read between the lines on what Johnson told "The Herd" on Thursday, in response to the excerpts from Wickersham's book, it's clear he too needs to distance himself from the Bears' past.
"I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear," Johnson told "The Herd" via Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. "He's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025."
Chicago truly is where quarterbacks go to die.
The Bears haven't had a first-team All-Pro quarterback since 1950. Since 1963, only two Bears quarterbacks have made the Pro Bowl. Jim McMahon was on the team in 1985 and Mitchell Trubisky made it in 2018 as a replacement. The Bears have famously never had a 4,000-yard season from a quarterback.
It's fairly amazing the Bears have never figured out the modern passing game. Williams' father was right to be wary of sending his son to a franchise that has never developed a star at quarterback, unless you count Sid Luckman about 80 years ago.
Williams had a tough rookie season. Some of his stats were fine but he took a league-leading 68 sacks and often looked overwhelmed. Waldron was fired and Williams had maybe his best stretch with Thomas Brown as the team's interim offensive coordinator. In typical Bears fashion, they screwed up that momentum by promoting Brown to interim head coach when they fired Eberflus.
The Bears have done plenty this offseason to help Williams. Johnson was hired and he is considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The Bears got three new starters for the interior of their offensive line. They drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. With all the moves the Bears have made to build up around Williams, he should succeed. There's a lot of pressure for Johnson and the team to get it right.
But this is the Bears. There is an entire Super Bowl era's worth of history working against Johnson and Williams. If the Bears can't get it right with Williams, the next quarterback prospect they eye in the draft might actually follow through on what Williams contemplated.
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New York Times
an hour ago
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QB Caleb Williams joins mostly rookies on field as Chicago Bears wrap up OTAs
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'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.' Advertisement 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 — 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. 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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)
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
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What new Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon learned on the headset
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams Reveals He Preferred to Play for Bears' Rival Instead
Caleb Williams enters his second season with the Chicago Bears as the leader of a talented supporting cast. If he'd had it his way soon after finishing up his career with the USC Trojans, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner would've been playing elsewhere in the NFC North. "I need to go to the Vikings," Williams told his father, Carl, before the 2024 NFL Draft, according to ESPN. Advertisement Caleb Williams, who was ultimately taken No. 1 overall by the Bears, wasn't fully trusting of Chicago's coaching staff, including now-former head coach Matt Ebeflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who's also no longer with the team. Williams had developed a relationship with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, who wound up drafting Michigan Wolverines passer J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 overall choice. The elder Williams worked to find a way to get around the NFL Draft, Seth Wickersham writes, in an effort to allow his son to pick which team he would play for in the NFL. Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams scrambles against the Rempel-Imagn Images "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Carl Williams told Wickersham leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft. Advertisement Wickersham is the author of "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." That book will be published in September. Caleb Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times last season. The Bears fired Eberflus during Williams' rookie season and replaced him with offensive guru Ben Johnson in January. "Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did, ups and downs, and then to be able (to) come in here, be as confident as I was last year or possibly even more and to be able to get here with the group that we have, I really can't wait to work with these guys," Williams said. Related: Caleb Williams Predicted To Be In the Mix for NFL MVP
