Since being drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has had a bumpy start to his NFL career. Amid a three-game losing streak, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, but the NFL rumor mill is at an all-time high, as Albert Breer reports there's frustration within the Bears' facility ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Packers.
“There's a ton of frustration, no question,” Breer said. “I think a lot of this stems back to Caleb Williams not being quite as ready as [the Bears] hoped he'd be when the season began.”
Now, Williams was touted as one of the top quarterback prospects the NFL has seen since Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence. Williams threw for over 10,000 yards and 93 touchdowns in his three collegiate seasons, which gave many the idea that he could be a better prospect than Luck or Lawrence.
However, throughout his first nine starts in the NFL, it hasn't gone as smoothly for the former No. 1 overall pick.
As the Bears' starting quarterback, Williams has led them to a 4-5 record, completing 60.5% of his passes for 1,785 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. One of the more alarming stats, however, is the 38 sacks he's taken through nine starts. Williams leads the league in sacks taken, beating out Texans' C.J. Stroud (34).
And with Bears head coach Matt Eberflus on the hot seat, rumors have flown around on what Chicago can do to save their season.
Bears rumored to possibly bench Caleb Williams following mid-season slump
With Williams struggling to succeed immediately in the NFL, there have been rumors that the Bears could end up benching Williams for backup quarterback Tyson Bagent.
Bagent went undrafted following four seasons with the Shepherd Rams, completing 69% of his passes for over 17,000 yards, 159 passing touchdowns, and 48 interceptions. He also went on to earning what some consider the DII-equivelant to the Heisman in 2021: The Harlon Hill Trophy.
Now, it's possible these are all just rumors with no substance, as the Bears have been a bit of a mess this season. When teams are a mess, the rumors flow like water down a hill.
Breer reported that under new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the team will be doing things together, as a group, to ideally put an end to the team's discombobulation surrounding the offense.
“One of the first things that Thomas Brown did over the course of the last few days is emphasize having full unit meetings, rather than breaking into position groups,” Breer said. “The hope is that he can bring the group together to try to find solutions.”
For a team that had so much promise heading into the 2024 season, it appears that everything that could go wrong, is going wrong in Halas Hall.
But with new command over the offense under Brown, it could be exactly what Williams and the Bears' offense needed to truly reach their potential.
