Bear Digest

What the Caleb Williams effect could do for Bears this offseason

A city so long without a quarterback has one at last, and the Bears are seing all kinds of potential positive effects as a result.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks downfield as defensive end Kobie Turner rushes in the third quarter Sunday night.
Caleb Williams looks downfield as defensive end Kobie Turner rushes in the third quarter Sunday night. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The talking point du jour after the Bears had lost 20-17 to the Rams in the divisional playoffs had been how nothing is guaranteed and nothing carries over to next season.

Cole Kmet and several others voiced this as they insisted it would be difficult to duplicate what the team did this year in 2026. Kmet even pointed out how the rest of the NFC North would be gunning for them.

Of course this is all true, but just because they can't win seven games in dramatic comeback style doesn't mean they're doomed to a 9-8 or 8-9 year.

They will improve with another year in the offense of Ben Johnson and perhaps they finally address defensive line issues.

On Monday at Halas Hall, another reason was cited by several players.

"And I think that’s going to attract people to come here in my opinion because of how good he is as a quarterback. So that’s why I feel like it’s sustainable."
Kevin Byard on Caleb Williams

It's the guy who was watching Connor Bedard at the Blackhawks-Jets game on Monday night with the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong. That would be one Caleb Williams. If Aaron Rodgers once claimed to own the Bears, Williams now owns the city, and that trumps all.

The Bears quarterback, after this season, is going to do more for the team than pass the ball.

"I’m not sitting here saying we’re going to use the momentum from this year into this next season, but like I said, I think with the core of the guys that we have here, obviously with Ben leading this roster, but also they have a franchise quarterback," safety Kevin Byard said. "That’s one of the hardest things to get right, to have a franchise quarterback.

"And obviously being able to build around him. But like I said, who knows what it’s going to look like on that side of the ball, the defensive side of the ball but like I said if you have those first two pieces with the head coach and the quarterback on the same page, Caleb is going to do nothing but get better."

Williams makes Chicago a destination

There is Willams' talent level, but also something else Byard pointed out that could well come into play in March.

"I think the lessons that he’s learned, he’s going to take that into the offseason," Byard said. "It's going to drive him to be the best he can possibly be. I mean, he’s already a top quarterback in this league in my opinion.

"And I think that’s going to attract people to come here in my opinion because of how good he is as a quarterback. So that’s why I feel like it’s sustainable."

Williams helping them draw a free agent or two does not seem far-fetched at all. Free agents look for these types of things all the time if money is comparable in different places. It would also help if they had some cap space, which they lack at the moment.

"It’s amazing," safety Jaquan Brisker said. "Eighteen continues to grow, especially from the first day he walked in to where he is now, it’s amazing to see what type of player he’s going to be. He’s going to continue to grow. He has become a better man, a better person, a better player, a better teammate.

"You see the plays he makes out there, and you can’t coach some of those things. They have a quarterback here in Chicago, and it’s going to be special for whatever (teammates are) going to be a part of this. He’s going to be a problem in this league."

The bond often found between quarterbacks and his protectors on the offense line now exists.

"First and foremost, awesome guy, great teammate, great to have around, all those things," center Drew Dalman said. "And then all the superlatives as a player.

"As an O-line, I can't tell you the amount of times he's helped us out when we've struggled or made huge plays for the team to keep us in games or to win games. I don't know what else you can ask for."

Williams sounded like an extension of Ben Johnson when he talked about what's to come. It's going to be hard work.

"You don't win championships at this moment," Williams said. "You win championships in OTA's and training camp and things like that. We will figure it out, we will come back together as a collective and find a way to go get back in the playoffs, back in the run because that's where you ultimately want to be every single year."

Chicago has needed a quarterback for so long and all of the things that follow a good one can now head to Halas Hall and Soldier Field.

In the not-so-distant past, a former Bears coach referred to the skillset Montez Sweat brought their defense as the "Sweat Effect."

Now, the Bears are about to see the full extent of the "Caleb Effect."

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.