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'You don't know what you don't know' - Bears Case Keenum has a very candid response when asked about helping Caleb Williams learn in 2025

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kole Noble | Last updated May 29, 2025 1:32 PM ET

Going into the 2025 season, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has a much stronger support system around him between the coaching staff and players in the locker room looking to help build him back up.

Williams certainly had a frustrating rookie campaign in Chicago, and rightfully felt helpless at times. Those feelings only added on after his offensive coordinator and head coach were fired by the end of November.

The results weren't pretty, but it was a learning experience for everyone involved.

Things are looking a lot more up with the new staff, but one of the key additions that will help Williams learn from last season's mistakes was quarterback Case Keenum.

In Keenum, the Bears added a guy willing to be a teacher with over 10+ years under his belt as a starter and backup. He's been around the block many of times and learned all the needed lessons to be an NFL quarterback the hard way.

Having someone like that while Williams was a rookie would have been ideal and something the organization and previous staff failed by overlooking.

"I say rookies don't know what they don't know," Keenum explained to reporters on Wednesday. "It's just the way it goes... The NFL is a little differently in how you can think about personnel groups, huddling, operation, play-calling, all of the above. You just don't know what you don't know sometimes. It's just a daily process."

Throughout that daily process in 2024, Williams revealed that he was watching film alone, without the guidance of players or even coaches. He was just turning it on and figuring everything out for himself.

"It wasn't that I didn't know how to watch film, it was trying to figure out the best ways, most efficient ways so that I can watch film and gather more information, so that when I do go out there on game days…I can see it. I can react," Williams said.

By having a player like Keenum in the building, the Bears can use him to get around league rules preventing coaches from working with players for certain periods of time. Since he's technically a rostered player, Keenum can work with Williams and the other quarterbacks at any time together, whether it's watching film or doing extra drills.

"He's beating me into the building," Keenum said of Williams. "That's the type of guy he is. He wants it that bad. It's getting little extra walk-throughs with the guys, meeting with the guys. I think I'm missing a little extra film study right now that is just the guys grabbing each other and [saying] 'Hey let's go watch a few plays from 7-on-7 today and talk about this different choice route or how we run this type of route with this type of leverage with this type of coverage.'"

That's exactly what Williams was missing as a rookie and not every veteran QB is willing to offer help to the younger guys. Keenum's embraced that role with a few different teams now and has gotten nothing but high praise for the help he provides.

And for Williams, he's been nothing but positive when it comes to accepting criticism and advice for how to improve going into his second season.

"He's just a sponge," Keenum said. "For being an all-world talent, a guy who has obviously since high school been the best player on any field anywhere he has ever stepped onto, be humble enough to ask me questions and watch and learn, has been really refreshing to see. A guy that young and that talented but still take to me and what I have to say, it's been really fun."

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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