If there's any team in the NFL that absolutely needs to see significant improvement during the 2025-26 season, it's the Chicago Bears. After posting a dismal 5-12 record with No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams at quarterback, the Bears need their investment ($39.5 million over four years to be exact) to show progression in his second year.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes that will start with the 23 year old's overall maturity.
"Football maturity is going to be a big thing for him," he said on SportsCenter on Sunday (h/t Bleacher Report). "Leaguewide, talking to other teams who are watching it closely because the ability is massive but how does he comport himself on the field? The Bears have already been working with him on body language, how you're handling yourself in the huddle, on the sidelines when a play doesn't go right. And the word out of Chicago is he's handling himself well there."
That being said, there is still room for growth.
"Now, some of the previous Bears coaches were not overly thrilled, I was told, that he made public that he was watching film by himself," Fowler continued. "They felt like he could've handled that a little better from an accountability standpoint. So those are all things people are watching but word is this offseason he's been great, really taken to Ben Johnson's hard, aggressive coaching."
The Bears need the least amount of problems from Caleb Williams this year
The last thing the Bears need this year is another distraction. With so many promises of better play and an eventual division title, the football is all the team can afford to focus on. Williams already had to address a controversy in May when a book excerpt detailed alleged strategies he and his father concocted to avoid his being drafted by the Bears.
"I wanted to come here and be the guy and be a part and be a reason why the Chicago Bears turn this thing around," Williams said in his prepared remarks. "That last thing that was said in all of that I think is the most important thing is that I wanted to be here. I love being here."
Until he backs it up on the gridiron, Williams' behavior will continue to be scrutinized by fans and the media. As the old adage goes, people forget quickest when you're winning.