Bears Legend Mike Singletary Says Caleb Williams Is 'Not Far Behind' Patrick Mahomes

Mike Singletary says Caleb Williams is not far behind Patrick Mahomes, giving the Bears QB another major vote of confidence entering a huge 2026 season.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

If you ask Chicago Bears legend Mike Singletary, the gap between Caleb Williams and Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes isn't that big.

Singletary was a guest on Up & Adams with Kay Adams recently and was asked who he would pick first in a re-draft of the entire league and Singletary chose Mahomes because of his obvious talent and leadership qualities.

While making his case for Mahomes, Singletary said he believes that Williams "is not far behind" the Chiefs signal-caller, which is about as good a compliment as an NFL quarterback can get.

"Hands down, I'm going to take Patrick Mahomes every day of the week," Singletary said. "But Caleb Williams is in that mix."

"(Mahomes is) doing something that exemplifies this is where this team wants to go and this is a guy that's leading the way," he said. "In this day and time, you need your quarterback to be that guy on the field that everybody is following and that's why Patrick Mahomes. And that's why the kid in Chicago is not far behind."

Caleb Williams' leadership a work in progress

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Bears head coach Ben Johnson has lauded Williams' leadership this offseason and believes that as the young signal-caller gains more and more experience in the offense, he will only get better.

"I think it comes with the comfort level in terms of knowing what's being asked in terms of the offense," Johnson said. "I think he's stepped up and he's continuing to get better every single day and it's just a matter of how many reps can we continue to pile on over the course of training camp. He's certainly is a vocal presence within our offense and our entire team."

Williams himself admits he's still a work in progress.

"I wasn't having the best practice, so I got really frustrated and [wide receiver] Kalif [Raymond] came up to me and said, 'Everybody is looking at you,'" Williams said.

"That really resonated for me because that's been something from my first year to now, I want to be as stoic as possible, good, bad or different. Not be too high or too low for the guys," he added.

The Bears can only hope the gap between Williams and Mahomes continues to shrink, both in terms of leadership qualities and overall level of play on the field.

If that happens, the Bears are going to be in great shape for a long time to come.