After four seasons with the Chicago Bears, Jaquan Brisker signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his hometown team, in free agency this offseason.
Brisker was an emotional leader and physical presence for the Bears on the field, raising the energy level with his all-in effort and intensity just as much as the punishing hits he delivered, with the latter sometimes coming at his own detriment.
He is embracing his next chapter and had interesting responses about his time in Chicago.
Ex-Bears SAF Jaquan Brisker Reflects on Time in Chicago
Jaquan Brisker Delivers Honest Take on Caleb Williams
Brisker sat down for an interview on “The Christian Kuntz Podcast” and was asked about quarterback Caleb Williams and his changes from his rookie season to the 2025 campaign, among other topics. In addition to the Bears’ record, Williams improved his touchdown and sack rates drastically.
Brisker said Williams “matured” after changing from a very “different” offense under former head coach Matt Eberflus (who had three offensive coordinators) to current head coach Ben Johnson’s scheme.
Williams stayed “late” studying the playbook.
Brisker said the QB was “focused,” as well as “serious” and “determined,” when on the field during Year 1 under Johnson. The former Bear noted the hard coaching from Johnson has been well-received by Williams.
Brisker made it clear that Williams always had the requisite skill set. The former No. 1 overall pick just needed refinement that Johnson is providing.
Williams is still working to improve himself.
“He had him locked in on the right path,” Brisker told Kuntz, who is also his new Steelers teammate, and the rest of the panel in the episode published on May 21. “He’s telling Caleb this and that. And then Caleb’s like, ‘All right. Yeah, I know I’m not [where I need to be]. But now, I just needed a couple things to add to my [game].’
“To be honest, he was great around the building, great off the field, great on the field. And on the field, you could just tell, he just wanted to keep getting better and better. And he had the talent. He got the arm, things like that–got the speed.”
Jaquan Brisker Gets Candid After Bears Exit
Asked about his first couple of seasons in the league, when the Bears went a combined 10-24, including a 3-13 mark during his rookie year in 2022, Brisker was again candid.
Brisker asserted that the Bears were not “bad” that year, beginning the campaign 3-5. But the team began trading players, including starters Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith. The Bears went on a 10-game losing streak to end that season.
They endured two more losing seasons at 7-10 in 2023 and 5-12 in 2024.
That was despite adding talent like DJ Moore via trade, Williams in the draft, and T.J. Edwards in free agency. So, the Bears fired former Eberflus and hired Johnson.
“We just needed like the you know the upstairs to be right … for us to flow. Because we knew we were that team. We just needed somebody to get us over that hump,” Brisker said, asserting that the players felt they were ascending as a group.
It was not just Johnson, either.
“He [Johnson] came in with great offense,” Brisker said. “And then, we had a great we had a great defense in DA [Dennis Allen].”
The Bears boasted the sixth-best offense overall and ranked ninth in scoring on that side. Allen and Brisker’s side of the ball finished 29th overall and 23rd in scoring, struggling against the run and the pass.
However, the unit also led the NFL in takeaways.
Jaquan Brisker Shares Appreciation for Bears Fans
Brisker was also asked about playing for the Bears and whether he enjoyed his time with the franchise after being informed fellow former Bears safety Ryan Mundy called Chicago “the greatest sports town.”
“It was amazing,” Brisker said. “Yeah, it was cool,” noting his appreciation for Bears fans.
“We were losing the first year, second year, they still was showing up,” Brisker said. “I remember we played Buffalo. It might have been the coldest game in NFL history, and it’s still packed. I said, ‘Yo, we’re really not making the playoffs, and they’re still here.”
Brisker joked about Chicago having the coldest weather he has ever played in, and about the grass being hard and brown, but his affinity for his time with the Bears came across.
So did his optimism about the direction the franchise is headed with Williams and Johnson working together.
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