LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams acknowledged it’ll be hard for him to “forget” about football for a few days during the summer break.
It’s five weeks off for Williams, whose life has been a whirlwind since he was drafted. Or, more accurately, five weeks away from Halas Hall. He plans to get together with his teammates to throw and train.
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“When I first got drafted, Keenan (Allen) and I were thinking about doing something obviously around this time,” Williams said Wednesday. “All of us will be getting together. We actually were all texting last night in the group chat, trying to figure out where exactly we want to be in the world, where we’re going to be throwing, working out and bonding and things like that.”
Williams said the plan is for defensive players to be included as well, all part of the 22-year-old’s effort to lead and learn a new offense. And to learn how to be a pro.
The Bears’ rookies spent the past three days doing an extra set of OTAs, and the team is now officially on vacation until its early report date for training camp: July 16 for rookies and July 19 for the vets before the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1. Here are some takeaways from the end of the offseason training program.
Caleb’s connections
When asked about what he had accomplished over the past month of practices, Williams didn’t talk about cadence or footwork but building relationships with his new teammates.
From the much-publicized Top Golf outing with Cole Kmet and Brett Rypien, among others, to dinners and movies with rookies, Williams has relished those moments.
“From Nov. 18 to April 25 of not being on a team, you realize how much you miss it and being in the locker room in those small moments, so making sure we’re taking advantage of that,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest. And then also just gaining and building more confidence and trust throughout the Bears and everybody here, but also myself within the offense, building that belief, that trust, that confidence and swagger to go out there and play.”
Threading the needle 🪡 pic.twitter.com/tTuE8cCGc1
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 6, 2024
Coach Matt Eberflus did single out what he saw from Williams on and off the field regarding the new playbook.
“He’s been able to really refine his understanding of the scheme,” Eberflus said.
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Rome’s ceiling
No one in the building is shying away from expectations for rookie receiver Rome Odunze. He won’t be in the spotlight nearly as much as Williams, which should be nice for him as far as distractions go, but everyone has seen that he’s ready to go.
“The guy wants to play,” Williams said. “As a competitor, as a player, being in this position, his position, you have great guys around you, you have all these things around you, tools, great coaches and great facilities, all these other things. Why would you want to necessarily wait?
“I believe that’s been his mindset, is, ‘I’m going to be able to play. I’m going to be on the field. But I’m also going to take in and soak in all I can from the guys like Keenan that’s been doing it for 12 to 13 years.’”
We could get used to this 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Ps02poArjz
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 30, 2024
Eberflus said he has been impressed with the way Odunze is learning on the job.
“Some guys just have a knack to do it, right?” he said. “They can see the pictures, the drawings in the classroom, and they can apply that right to the field. He’s able to process a bunch of information at the same time and then take it to the field. He’s really good that way.”
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Odunze isn’t shying away from anything, either. He saw what his former teammate Puka Nacua did last season with nearly 1,500 receiving yards.
“I’m absolutely chasing that,” he said.
The Bears’ record book was brought up, and Odunze knows Brandon Marshall holds the single-season receiving record (1,508 yards), then was reminded that Johnny Morris has the career mark (5,059 yards).
“Of course (I’m) chasing those records, and I think that’s important because, and I said this at Washington, I’ll hopefully leave the Bears organization better than I found it. And if I have my name on some of those records … that’s just one facet of doing so,” he said. “So, absolutely.”
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Waldron’s observations
We heard from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron for the first time since rookie minicamp, and he has gotten a month of practices and meetings with the No. 1 pick.
Waldron said it has confirmed a lot of what he learned about Williams before the NFL Draft.
“His competitive nature, his willingness to learn, his desire to know the ‘why’ on everything that is happening so that he’s not just out there robotic, trying to just run a play,” he said. “He’s out there really learning it, really understanding it. Knowing there is a long way to go in terms of going from one offense to another but not skipping any of the steps and knowing in order to achieve greatness, he has to put in a lot of hard work. And he’s backed that up with what he’s demonstrated so far in the time we have been around him.”
Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman pic.twitter.com/QjIu0cSotM
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 4, 2024
When the veterans got to Lake Forest and Williams went up against the starting defense, there were predictable struggles, whether in the two-minute drill or red zone. Waldron tries to instill the idea of staying focused on 65 individual snaps in a game and not letting the previous one affect the next one.
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It’s coachspeak but critical for a rookie quarterback.
“I think Caleb has really embraced that, and you don’t see one particular play impact the next series,” he said. “He’s learned from them and moved on.”
We spent a lot of time analyzing Williams in seven-on-seven drills, and though it’s not a great indicator of what’s to come, it’s a lot of what we get to see this time of year. Williams had some impressive sessions but also threw a couple of interceptions.
For Waldron, that drill is important for Williams’ growth.
“There’s a lot of things that aren’t totally realistic to the actual game, but it’s a great chance for a quarterback to see what windows they can fit throws into,” he said. “It’s a great chance to time things up with their feet, see different voids in a clean picture, with the final goal of that being, OK, let’s bank these reps.”
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Summer ‘vacation’
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Eberflus said he has “a hard time getting fully away” from football during the summer. An early riser, Eberflus said he uses the mornings to outline training camp or season plans.
Then it’s golf and family time.
Williams has an art project of sorts: He wants to rewrite his notebook.
“Making it a bit more pretty,” he said. “It’s a bit scrambled right now.”
The starting quarterback has mapped out a plan for the next five weeks, which might include an hour or two of mental work one day followed by a workout the next.
“A lot of times the biggest thing for quarterbacks is confidence and believing in the plan,” he said, “whether it’s game day, offseason or whatever the case may be.”
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Quick hits
• Eberflus said rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie is projected to be ready to go for training camp. He was held out of spring practices with a quad injury. Eberflus also said he feels good about any vets who missed time over the past few weeks being healthy for mid-July.
• No plan has been set yet about preseason reps for Williams and the offense. Eberflus said they’re still talking and studying, noting how C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson had between 45 and 65 preseason snaps last year. “We’ll always do what’s best for the Bears,” he said.
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• The Bears re-signed 40-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis for his 19th NFL season. “He’s a tremendous leader who has a great way about him,” Eberflus said. “And he has great wisdom. Great wisdom and discernment. He helps everyone in the building, not just the players. He helps me in terms of the feel for the team and where everybody is in terms of the players.”
(Photo of Caleb Williams: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
