Chicago Bears coach sends critical warning to Caleb Williams

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Chicago Bears coach sends critical warning to Caleb Williams

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Matthew Schmidt | Last updated May 23, 2026 7:00 PM ET

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams certainly had an impressive sophomore campaign last season, leading the Bears to 11 wins, an NFC North division title and the franchise’s first playoff victory since January 2011.

Williams also developed a flare for the dramatic, guiding Chicago to numerous comeback victories, including a pair of wins over the Green Bay Packers. That included the Bears’ Wild Card Round playoff triumph, rallying his team back from a 21-3 deficit.

However, there is no question that Williams has some things he can improve upon.

For example, while the former No. 1 overall pick threw for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2025, he completed just 58.1 percent of his passes, which was even lower than his rookie year when he made good on 62.5 percent of his throws.

Bears quarterback coach J.T. Barrett has made one thing clear: he wants Williams to clean up the early-game mistakes.

Chicago Bears QB coach sends strong message to Caleb Williams

Dec 20, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks to throw a pass against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Williams was definitely impressive during the second half of many of Chicago’s wins last season, but Barrett feels that if Williams takes care of business earlier, it won’t have to reach a point where the Bears will have to mount a comeback.

“Late in some of those games, we were making some heroic plays … but it wasn’t necessary if we execute in the first quarter and second quarter,” Barrett said, via Jason Lieser of The Chicago Sun-Times. “We might be up two touchdowns by the time we get to the fourth quarter. We can be efficient and take what the defense is giving. You don’t necessarily have to put the cape on and make those crazy plays because you already were killing them in the first three quarters.”

Basically, Barrett wants Williams to stop taking so many chances early on and just making the simple throws rather than trying to go for the jugular in the first quarter.

“Hey, my guy, I know you just made this crazy play. That was really cool. But we had a guy come open wide underneath that you just pop it to and then he does the running, and now you’re not as tired,” Barrett explained.

A big question facing Williams and he Bears offense heading into 2026 is whether or not it has enough viable weapons after subtracting both D.J. Moore and Olamide Zacchaeus during the offseason. Chicago signed Kalif Raymond and selected Zavion Thomas in the third round of the NFL Draft, but neither player inspires a ton of confidence.

We’ll see if Williams can make some of his receivers better by playing a more consistent brand of football next fall.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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