Patrick Mannelly spent 16 seasons and 245 games with the Chicago Bears, setting the franchise standard for longevity. These days, though, the former long snapper is hoping someone in navy and orange takes a run at his mark - and the player he wants to see do it is Caleb Williams.
When asked whether he saw the same kind of consistency in any current Bear, Mannelly didn’t hesitate. “There is one player I want to break it, and it’s Caleb Williams,” he said.
“If he does, that means the Bears are great. That means they’re winning Super Bowls ... if you talk about consistency, please [Caleb] go break my record.”
Williams is still a long way from catching him. He’s at 40 games and almost three seasons right now, which means 205 more games to match Mannelly and 206 to pass him, along with 13 more seasons. But Mannelly’s point was clear: if a quarterback is around long enough to threaten a record like that, the Bears are doing something right.
The conversation with Mannelly wasn’t only about football, either. Heart health was front and center.
His mother died a week after the Bears’ appearance in Super Bowl XLI, and the issue hits close to home because his family has a history of heart disease, with many of the men dying in their 60s. That’s part of why he’s working with Heartflow, whose AI-based technology creates 3D images of the heart for more detailed analysis, while GAMEFILM provides the actual study.
The study is free to former NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB players, with the stated goal of helping push “for earlier detection, better care and stronger standards - for athletes today and for generations to come.”
Mannelly also weighed in on another major Bears addition: four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. After seeing Simmons’ first two games with Chicago, Mannelly called him a complete player and pointed to a play against the Seahawks in Week 8 as proof of what makes him special.
“He’s a multiple-position player. He played nose guard, D-tackle, D-end ... then he can also recognize the play from the nose guard position,” Mannelly said. “To have the physical ability to run the running back down [against Seattle] and stop the play for a loss, Jeffery Simmons is just a complete player.”
Mannelly said he would place Simmons just a tier below Aaron Donald, a comparison that says plenty given the standard Donald set. For Bears fans who once hoped Donald would land in Chicago, Simmons looks like a strong consolation prize. And with Simmons anchoring the defense and Williams under center, Mannelly sees a team that could stack up with his 2006 Super Bowl Bears.
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