Bears rumors: Caleb Williams ROY odds, new stadium plans, Jaquan Brisker ruled out

The Chicago Bears are already enjoying the sights in London as they prepare to meet the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

The game is a big one for both teams. For the 3-2 Bears, they're hoping to build on a two-game winning streak and keep pace in the hyper-competitive NFC North. The Jaguars are in a much more dire situation at 1-4, but after finally getting a win last week over the division-rival Colts, there's hope among Jags fans that Trevor Lawrence and company are ready to turn things around.

We'll break down some of the most critical matchups in this fascinating battle on Friday, but first, we need to do our weekly rumor roundup because there's lots happening in Bears land. Let's start with Caleb Williams, who has really come alive in recent weeks.

Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels is the heavyweight slugfest we didn't know we needed

When two quarterbacks are selected at the top of the NFL Draft, it's unavoidable that they'll be compared to each other. Think of Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf, Andrew Luck vs. Robert Griffin III, and Jared Goff vs. Carson Wentz.

This year actually saw quarterbacks taken with the first three picks, but whereas the Bears and Commanders handed the keys to their new franchise cornerstones on day one, the Patriots took a more patient approach with Drake Maye in letting him sit behind veteran Jacoby Brissett. Maye will finally get his first start this week, but while he's still at the starting line when it comes to the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, Williams and Daniels are already tearing around the track.

Daniels has been nothing short of phenomenal since the season began. The Commanders lead the NFL in points scored thanks in large part to his dual-threat ability, as the former LSU Tiger has completed over 77 percent of his passes while becoming the first player in history to pass for over 1,000 yards and rush for over 250 yards in his first five games.

Daniels' electric debut has thrust him not only to the top of the Offensive Rookie of the Year race but also into the early conversation for MVP of the entire league. Honestly, it's well deserved, as he's looked every bit as dynamic as he did in winning the Heisman Trophy last year.

The NFL shouldn't go engraving that ROY trophy just yet, though, because Williams is making it clear that he won't be left behind that easily. While Daniels undoubtedly got off to a stronger start, Williams has come on like gangbusters in throwing for 822 yards the last three weeks, and in Sunday's game against the Panthers, in which he threw for 304 yards and ran for 34 more without turning the ball over once, was his best yet.

Daniels has been great all year, but Williams has been improving at an incredible clip. FanDuel currently has the Washington quarterback as a -250 favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, with Williams next at +300. Giants receiver Malik Nabers also deserves some attention at +700, though he missed the last game with a concussion.

Ryan Poles addressed the Rookie of the Year battle on Wednesday, saying he wants Williams "to run his own race" and not compare himself to Daniels. Those comparisons will be unavoidable, especially since the two will be meeting on the field in just over two weeks.

The race for Rookie of the Year promises to be a compelling one all season, but more importantly for fans of the Bears and Commanders, it seems clear that after years of searching, they both have found their quarterbacks of the future.

Bears stadium drama continues

The Bears have given fans plenty to discuss when it comes to their play on the field, but another hot topic of conversation has centered around where the team will be playing in the years to come.

Soldier Field was opened in 1924, and it's been the home of the Bears since 1971. Few people remain that can remember the time before that when the Bears played in Wrigley Field, but many can still recall the 2002 season when the team played in Champaign as Soldier Field was renovated.

Rumors have swirled about what the future holds for Bears home games. For a while, it seemed the team was set on moving to the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights after buying out a 326-acre piece of property there. Further renovating Soldier Field to usher it into the modern age was also thrown out as a possibility, but it seems the most likely course of action is to build a new domed stadium on the lakefront, close to where Soldier Field now stands.

President and CEO Kevin Warren addressed the stadium conundrum on Wednesday from London, saying that the team still sees the lakefront stadium as the best option, but that the stadium is being designed from an "agnostic" point of view, meaning that the focus is on making "a great building" that could work either on the lakefront or at Arlington Heights.

The team unveiled plans earlier this year for what the project could look like. The Bears are envisioning this as a year-round, multipurpose destination, not just a stadium to be used a handful of times a year. The team wants Chicago to host a Super Bowl for the first time, for example, while also providing multiple acres of green space, a pedestrian mall and more.

There's a whole mess of red tape that Warren will need to get through before the project can get off the ground, including figuring out whether public funds will be used or if the stadium will be privately funded. The hope is that everything will be finalized in time for a 2025 groundbreaking and a 2028 opening, but until then, Bears fans will need to continue to monitor the situation.

Jaquan Brisker ruled out vs. Jaguars

This one won't come as much of a surprise, but it's still a major blow to the Bears defense. Jaquan Brisker didn't fly with the team to London due to being in the league's concussion protocol following his scary collision with Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble on Sunday, though Bears fans held out hope earlier in the week that he would be cleared and able to join the team closer to gameday.

Brisker has been playing the best football of his career lately, so his absence will be felt. His performance against the Rams in Week 4 was especially outstanding, as he logged 12 tackles, a sack and a game-sealing interception in the win. He'll be replaced by Elijah Hicks and Jonathan Owens.

The Bears will need Hicks and Owens to step up because Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence is fresh off his best game of the season. He completed over 82 percent of his passes last week as he torched the Colts secondary for 371 yards and two touchdowns, and he's quickly developed a connection with first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr., who already has 397 yards on the season while establishing himself as one of the most dangerous deep threats in the league.

Thomas has two long touchdowns on the year, and his 85-yard score last week was the fastest speed recorded by a ball carrier all season, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Hicks and Owens will be responsible for keeping him from breaking loose, but they'll also have to provide support in the run game, where Tank Bigsby broke out for 101 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries. That's in addition to the always-dangerous Travis Etienne Jr., who also figures to get double-digit touches.

The Bears defense has been excellent to start the year in limiting opponents to only 17 points per game, but it will have its work cut out for it in containing a suddenly explosive Jaguars offense without Brisker.