Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ rookie season was far from the coronation many expected. Instead, it was full of harsh lessons, and while Williams would disagree, it appeared he had more to learn than he or the team anticipated.
It’s vital for Williams and the organization that he turns this haphazard education into growth next season. It was awkward at times for the No. 1 overall pick to join a veteran roster and try to take charge, but it can’t stay that way.
This must be Williams’ show next season. The quarterback should set the tone and lead the way, though he was excused from some of that as a rookie finding his footing in an unstable setting. It’s hard to direct others when you aren’t sure of what you’re doing.
Williams said he’ll “absolutely” be more assertive with teammates and promised “next year will be a big jump for me” in that regard, but for him to drive the Bears, it starts with playing much better.
“To take the next step in leadership… you’ve got to be on point each day,” he said Monday during locker cleanout at Halas Hall. “Going through this first year, I knew that I was going to have rookie mess-ups and things like that.”
Williams initially set his sights on outdoing Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s 2023 rookie season, but fell well short of that target.
There are a million asterisks, including his head coach and offensive coordinator being fired during the season and the Bears assembling an offensive line in which 4 of 5 starters need to be replaced, but Williams was the one with the ball in his hand and owns his performance.
He finished with a 62.5 completion percentage (33rd among the 39 quarterbacks who threw at least 200 passes), 3,541 yards passing (17th), 20 touchdown passes (15th), six interceptions (10th fewest) and an 87.8 passer rating (24th). He was seventh in rushing yards by a quarterback at 489.
Among Bears single-season leaders, he was fourth in yardage, 12th in touchdown passes and 12th in passer rating among players who threw 200 or more passes. His passer rating was more than 10 points higher than Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky posted as rookies.
In the 2024 rookie class, though, Williams was fourth in completion percentage, third in yardage, third in touchdown passes, threw the fewest interceptions and was fourth in passer rating.
Ideally, Williams would’ve gotten better guidance navigating his acclimation from college to the NFL, and interim coach Thomas Brown said Monday, “Expecting guys to come in from Day 1 and just have all the answers [isn’t] realistic.”
Brown aided Williams substantially when he stepped in as offensive coordinator, but before that, Williams was in the hands of Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron.
“Was I coached well?” Williams said, laughing as he repeated a question that wouldn’t need to be asked in a functional environment. “I was coached well for the task at hand.
“That’s a challenge to have different coaches throughout the season and different terminologies and the way they believe in stuff and trying to run somebody else’s offense. The collective… I’d say that I was coached well.”
That can’t be correct. Maybe Williams was being merciful, and obviously he’s unfamiliar with expert coaching at the NFL level, but the Eberflus-led staff surely was more of a hindrance than a help.
That’s the most important issue to fix. Williams is practically begging the Bears to bring in a demanding coach who will push him to where he wants to go.
“I don’t have an issue with being challenged,” he said. “I don’t have an issue with speaking truth between the coach and I.”
The Bears’ future hinges on Williams making the “big jump” he mentioned, and nothing is more critical than the incoming coach facilitating that progress. The Bears aren’t going anywhere if they can’t help Williams get going first.
