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ESPN makes historic 2025 prediction for Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated May 15, 2025 10:52 AM ET

The Chicago Bears' 2025 schedule is set, featuring several primetime games and a Black Friday date against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears won't play on Thursday night, and they'll be stateside for all 17 games, which should help Caleb Williams and the offense produce on a consistent level in Ben Johnson's first year as head coach, calling plays.

In fact, the Bears' offense is a popular choice to be one of the more exciting units in the NFL this season. It's what happens when a team invests so many offseason resources into one side of the ball, as Chicago did with trades, free agency, and the 2025 NFL draft.

General manager Ryan Poles stocked Johnson's shelves with an entirely new offensive line and dynamic pass-catching rookies, which adds to an already established cast of playmakers in DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.

The Bears' offensive arsenal has Williams' 2025 outlook at a historic level. At least, that's what ESPN's Courtney Cronin is projecting with her bold season projection.

Will Caleb Williams throw for 4,000 yards in 2025?

Cronin has Williams becoming the first Chicago Bears quarterback to eclipse 4,000 passing yards.

"Williams becomes Chicago's first 4,000-yard passer by crossing the threshold against Green Bay in Week 16, two games fewer than it took Jared Goff in his first season with Johnson calling plays," Cronin wrote. "The Bears closed the 2024 season by snapping a 10-game losing streak with a win at Lambeau Field and will sweep the Packers for the first time since 2007."

This was a popular prediction for Williams' rookie season, but the 2024 first-overall pick fell just short, throwing for 3,541 yards. His yardage total ranked as the fifth-highest single-season total in franchise history.

The current single-season Bears passing record is held by Erik Kramer, who threw for 3,838 yards in 1995. Jay Cutler holds the second through fourth-highest season totals, maxing out at 3,812 in 2014.

It's a low bar for Caleb Williams to jump to sit atop the Bears' record book, and if ESPN's prediction is correct, he'll shatter Kramer's mark by a wide margin.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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