The Chicago Bears are back.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson will speak at Halas Hall on Tuesday. That will mark the official start of training camp. Caleb Williams and his fellow Bears players will take the field for their first practice on Wednesday.
Before that, though, Williams was part of some Bears news to cap their summer break and wrap up their offseason.
Ben Johnson’s Message for Caleb Williams Leads Bears News
Caleb Williams Gets Clear Message From Ben Johnson
Williams joined Kay Adams to discuss several topics, including the Madden NFL Football cover and Bears teammate Luther Burden III’s ability to create after the catch. He also offered a confident but diplomatic response to a question about the rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.
His most encouraging remarks, though, were about Johnson and the revelation that they went through all of Williams’ incompletions from last season.
Williams said that is the kind of push that he wants, which he told Johnson.
“He asked me a question, right before I left. He said, “Is there anything you need from me to be better for you?’ I said, ‘Nope, just keep pushing me.’ And he said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that,’” Williams said on “Up & Adams” on July 27.
“We’re gonna keep going, we’re gonna keep pushing, we’re gonna finding ways to get better to be able to win games from September to February.”
Williams said that their process begins with looking at how he can improve from those misses.
The former No. 1 overall pick had one of the worst completion percentages among qualifiers in the NFL last season. He and Johnson have noted that part of the issue was Williams trying to do too much at times.
However, in addition to his receivers needing to step up this season, some advanced metrics put Williams in rare air in terms of limiting mistakes that would cost the offense even more.
Striking that balance will be the key to the offseason for Williams, Johnson, and the Bears.
Rome Odunze Working With The Enemy
While Williams was speaking about his offseason work with Johnson, Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze drew attention with Detroit Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown and Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets.
St. Brown shared a photo of the trio striking poses. It is unclear at this point what the reason for the link-up was, but players often intermingle during the offseason. St. Brown did play for Johnson during the latter’s time as the Lions’ OC.
Odunze has been a source of intrigue for the Bears this offseason.
He suffered a foot injury early last season that hindered him and has healed in a way that he now has callouses and a “new normal” of managing it. That is less than ideal for the former first-round pick who got out to a hot start last season before getting hurt.
He will also be extension-eligible next offseason, along with Williams, putting additional emphasis on this season for him and the Bears.
Johnson has said the Bears expect Odunze to be himself, but time will certainly tell if that is the case.
Super Bowl Champion Backs Bears
The Bears have been a polarizing team when discussing this upcoming season. Some have argued that they were the beneficiaries of a soft schedule and good timing. They faced a slew of backup quarterbacks along the way.
Their SOS was high heading into the 2025 season, too, though.
Apart from that, Super Bowl champion Chris Canty believes the Bears are poised to repeat as NFC North champions. They have not done that since 2005 and 2006.
“I think all of the teams in the NFC north have their respective warts. But I’m going to go with the team that won the division last year,” Canty said on “First Take” on July 27. “Nobody in the NFL had more plays of 10 yards or more than the Chicago Bears. And best believe, in Year 2 with Ben Johnson, there are going to be a lot more of those layup-type plays that Caleb Williams is going to make in the passing game.”
The Bears had a resurgent season in 2025. The doubts are to be expected. Even last year’s strong campaign began with an 0-2 start, including the Lions hanging 52 points on them in Week 2.
They shook that off to win the North.
Still, Johnson, Williams, and the Bears will certainly want to avoid needing to dig themselves out of an early hole.
