Former NFL star says Caleb Williams is already the best Bears QB ever

Williams just backed up his record-setting regular season with a playoff performance for the ages.

Jan 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) rolls out as Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) applies the pressure during the first half of an NFC Wild Card Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The euphoria of Saturday’s insane Wild Card Weekend win over the Packers is slowly starting to give way to the reality of next weekend’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

But the buzz around quarterback Caleb Williams, whose latest Houdini act and mind-bending fourth-down conversion to Rome Odunze broke the league’s collection brains, is only crescendoing.

So much so that former NFL defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was compelled to drop a take so hot that it might make the temperature for next Sunday’s game above-freezing again.

“Caleb Williams is the best Bears quarterback ever,” he said on NFL Network’s NFL Gameday after Saturday’s contest, “and I’m saying this in Year 2.”



Move over Sid Luckman? Jay Cutler, who? 

Before we analyze the claim, let’s take a look at the evidence McCoy, a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, laid out.

And you know what I’m saying this? He’s got the rookie passing record. He’s got the single-season passing record. He’s got the most touchdowns over his first two years. He’s got the playoff single-game pass record. He has six game-winning drives, which is the most ever in that franchse—seven now, if you include the playoffs. And he’s by far the most talented quarterback to ever walk through that door,” he said.

“He just goes out and wins games. I don’t know what it is, but he has something special. Caleb Williams will be one of the best quarterbacks in this league for a long time. All he has to do is settle down and be okay with the simple … Caleb Williams is the best Bears quarterbacks ever. Yes, I just said it.”

"Caleb Williams is the best @ChicagoBears QB EVER" 😳
- @Geraldini93 pic.twitter.com/WUHPsTBz8b

— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) January 11, 2026

Now, on one hand, I can completely understand someone saying Williams doesn’t have anywhere near the longevity to be in that conversation. After all, it is just his second year. Plus, if you want to look at stats, this season is pretty on par with Jay Cutler’s best with the Bears in 2014 and 2015, so it’s not as if he’s blowing the doors down with numbers just yet.

That said, a lot of these stats were empty—earned on Bears teams that didn’t end up doing anything of note. 

Plus, Cutler’s best seasons were clearly in his prime. Williams just did this in his second season in an offense he just learned a few months ago. His well-manicured finger nails haven’t even gotten close enough to the surface of his true potential to scratch it. 

Throw in the fact that he has casually pulled off at least two of the top-five most insane comeback wins Bears fans have ever seen, and I think McCoy is closer to being right than he is wrong at this point.

Plus, it’s not as if we haven’t had a second-year Bears player who was so good that he was already the best in franchise history at what he did. In fact, you could’ve called Devin Hester the best return man ever after two seasons—he just decided to end the discussion later on.

Give it a couple more years, and we won’t be debating this question: Caleb Williams will be so far and away the best quarterback to wear a Bears uniform that Sid Luckman will seem like he played in the Stone Age.

More Chicago Bears News:

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• Caleb Williams and DJ Moore grate cheese postgame, embarrass the Packers even more

• Bears “Stock Down” Wildcard Round: The coaching staff and defense almost blow it

• Bears “Stock Up” Wildcard Round: Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland have fully arrived