Bears' Ben Johnson responds to criticisms of Caleb Williams, sends strong warning to NFL

Stories shared throughout the summer have indicated that second-year head coach Ben Johnson and others associated with the Chicago Bears believe that third-year quarterback Caleb Williams will make a major leap during the upcoming season. 

For a piece published on Wednesday, Dan Pompei of The Athletic spoke with Johnson about numerous topics, including what has been said and written about Williams since even before the Bears made the signal-caller the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Is it "just a matter of time" before Caleb Williams becomes elite? 

"Before Johnson was Williams’ coach, he heard the questions," Pompei wrote. "'Is accuracy a problem? Could he play within a structured offense? Does he lack sufficient processing speed?' Johnson wasn’t sure then. He is now."

According to Pompei, Johnson said that he doesn't have "any concerns in those areas" related to Williams. 

"He showed it to me," Johnson continued. "Now it’s just a matter of time."

Williams' rocky rookie season included the Bears firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Nov. 12, 2024, and Chicago parting ways with head coach Matt Eberflus shortly after the club's Thanksgiving Day loss to the rival Detroit Lions. However, Williams bounced back in a big way under Johnson, as the 24-year-old guided the 2025 Bears to seven comeback victories after trailing in the fourth quarter of games through their wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers. 

Ben Johnson doesn't just want to win games in his second season with the Bears

A supposed "miscommunication" with then-Chicago wide receiver DJ Moore resulted in Williams throwing a costly interception in overtime of the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. While some expect Chicago to go even further in the upcoming postseason tournament, Johnson made it known that he doesn't simply want to beat opponents this coming fall. 

"You’ve got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, 'Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,'" Johnson told Pompei. "I want more than that. I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored (37.9), and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts."

The Bears' first opportunity to notch a blowout win will arrive when they open the regular season with a matchup at the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13.