Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears finished with a disappointing record of 5-12 last season. The quarterback’s rookie season didn’t go according to plan, and the team parted ways with head coach Matt Eberflus.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles made the best of the coaching search and landed Ben Johnson from the Detroit Lions. Johnson was widely considered the best candidate available in this year’s head coaching cycle, and he’ll now have the opportunity to bring the best out of Williams in Chicago.
The Bears have been aggressive in the offseason, trading for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson to address their offensive line issues. The NFC North team also signed center Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal to further help their young quarterback.
Based on the Bears’ moves in free agency, Colin Cowherd thinks Williams is under immense pressure to perform in his sophomore season.
In a conversation with Danny Parkins on the “Colin Cowherd podcast,” the FS1 analyst highlighted how this is a make-or-break year for the Bears quarterback (0:30):
“I think this year, the Bears are really interesting. Because if Caleb Williams struggles again, he may not be the guy. In fact, he’s probably not.
“So, rookie quarterbacks, I never think the team is too interesting because it’s going to be ugly, and you can’t make any stern judgments like, obviously, Jayden Daniels is terrific. He’s Lamar Jackson [of] NFC, it’s over, we don’t have to argue about that. So, I think Chicago is my most interesting team.”
Jayden Daniels hitting the ground running with the Commanders has put more pressure on Williams to perform. It will be interesting to see how he plays now that an offensive-minded head coach, Johnson, will be there to help him.
Ben Johnson has put Caleb Williams in a position to succeed
Many expected Caleb Williams to succeed immediately in the NFL with the Bears. The team had players like D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet on offense to help the quarterback, but unfortunately, nobody expected their offensive line to be as disastrous as it was last season.
Williams was sacked 68 times in 17 games last season, which is a concerning stat. As a result, the first thing Johnson did after arriving in Chicago was to completely overhaul the offensive line.
Chicago also has the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, so Johnson and Poles could further help Williams by selecting a player like Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren.
The new Bears head coach has put the 23-year-old quarterback in a position to succeed, and now it’s up to Williams to make the most of his opportunity.
