LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Tight end Cole Kmet was in his second season with the Bears when the organization last reset its clock at quarterback.
But before Justin Fields started a game for Matt Nagy’s team that season, he sat behind veteran Andy Dalton, including all of training camp.
“I think some guys really benefit from being able to sit a year,” Kmet said Friday at Halas Hall as players reported for camp. “Now, that’s kind of a luxury in this day and age.”
Fields didn’t sit out the year. He only sat for two weeks. Fields started his first game in Week 3 of that season in Cleveland — and was sacked nine times. He was 6-for-20 passing.
Coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles have a different plan for Caleb Williams. He’s been their starter from the moment of his draft selection on April 25.
“I think the beauty of his situation: it’s no doubt here,” Kmet said. “He’s the guy going forward. There’s none of this question of when he’s going to get in (or) are we going to see him this year. You’re going to see him this year. He’s going to be in. He’s going to be getting a lot of reps. And I think that’s good for him. Maybe there’s peace of mind in that aspect.”
And maybe it’ll work.
In 2021, there was more uncertainty. The Bears moved on from Mitch Trubisky and signed Dalton in free agency after Nick Foles faltered during the 2020 season. The Bears then moved up from No. 20 to No. 11 to select Fields in the draft.
But regardless of Fields’ selection and the price paid for it, Nagy remained steadfast in his approach to keeping him behind Dalton throughout camp.
With the first pick in this year’s draft, Eberflus and Poles had clarity: draft Williams and make him the Bears’ starter on Day 1.
“For me, it’s just believing in Caleb, putting him in there and let’s go,” Eberflus said.
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With Williams’ contract signed, that’s all there is left to do now. Neither Williams nor Poles revealed much about what was asked for or what’s included in Williams’ first NFL contract.
“Just for general knowledge, it’s very common for different things to be asked for in the very beginnings of negotiations,” Poles said. “So it wasn’t anything shocking in terms of what was being asked for or anything like that. But at the end of the day, I’m glad it worked out and (it’s) pretty kind of standard.”
Done deal. pic.twitter.com/BCJswKcfgf
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 17, 2024
What wasn’t standard was Williams’ involvement. He hasn’t hired an NFLPA-certified agent to represent him.
“I appreciate everybody that was going through it all with myself,” Williams said. “So whether it’s us being here until 12 on Sunday and Monday, 12 at night, working through it, and trying to figure out the whole process and how it goes, I definitely learned a lot throughout this whole process for the next upcoming ones.”
For now, though, there is only football.
A lot of it.
The Bears will purposely keep his plate full. Eberflus said Williams will play in the preseason. That likely won’t be in the Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans on Aug. 1. But Williams is potentially looking at 45-55 snaps total in exhibition play.
“It’s always week to week because you have to see what the health of your line is and where everybody is,” Eberflus said. “But certainly, all those exposures are equally as valuable.”
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Facing and eventually beating the Bears’ first-team defense is important, too. The Bears also will host the Cincinnati Bengals for a joint practice on Aug. 15.
“Practice here is just as valuable as those moments,” Williams said. “So it’s making sure I’m not looking forward to preseason and those preseason games and I’m focused on playing against the Chicago Bears defense right now. And when those moments come, take those moments as just as valuable as practice.”
This is where the Bears’ plan for Williams also breaks from what happened three years ago. All the first-team snaps will belong to Williams in camp. Nagy never deviated from his plan for Fields. The rookie QB always remained with the reserves.
Williams will be given opportunities to succeed in practice but also fail with and against the Bears’ best players. He needs them to improve ahead of his first NFL start, Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
“There’s going to be adversity and I just want to see him lean on all of us to get through those moments and then when you’re clicking and in the zone that those high moments are high,” Poles said. “We just continue to learn and continue to get better every single week and every single day.”
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As Williams said several times, his goal is to keep progressing. The Bears already saw it during the offseason program.
“I would say the thing that stands out the most, that gets everyone excited, actually two things, is his passion for the game and his work ethic is outstanding,” Poles said. “The kid’s a grinder and wants to be great, but it’s always nice to see the work ethic match the desire to be great.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
