Caleb Williams doesn’t have much left to ask for.
The Bears have spent the last few years stacking the offense around him, and the result is a unit that looks built to keep him comfortable and productive for a long time. Chicago’s skill group is young across the board, with Williams, Kyle Monangai, Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland all 25 or younger. Add in an offensive line that has played at a high level, and the picture around the quarterback is as clean as it gets.
That’s part of why CBS Sports writer Jared Dudin tied the Bears with the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL’s best offensive infrastructure for quarterbacks.
"Ben Johnson and Sean McVay are two of the very small handful of best offensive minds in the league. The pass catching groups have either huge stars (Rams) or great depth (Bears).
The offensive lines are above-average to good, and the running backs are solid. When you account for the quarterback, the Rams have the advantage, and that's why Matthew Stafford was able to win MVP last year, but in a vacuum, Caleb Williams has just about as good a chance for success on a play-to-play basis as he does because of the talent around him on all areas of the field."
Chicago backed that up last offseason by reshaping the offense around Johnson’s vision. The Bears added three new starting offensive linemen, including All-Pro Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and then kept adding in the draft with Loveland, Burden, Monangai and Ozzy Trapilo.
The payoff was immediate. Chicago won the NFC North and picked up a playoff victory for the first time in more than a decade.
Williams was right in the middle of it, putting together a franchise-record 3,942 passing yards, 31 total touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 17 regular-season games. He also delivered an NFL-record seven comeback and game-winning drives and turned in some of the most eye-catching throws the league saw all season.
The Bears didn’t stop there. Even this offseason, when the offense appeared to lose some ground with Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman’s shocking retirement and the trade of DJ Moore, Poles and Johnson kept the support system intact. Chicago traded for Garrett Bradbury to step in as the new starting center, drafted Logan Jones as the future at the position, signed Kalif Raymond to fill the WR3 role and added Zavion Thomas in the draft as a possible WR3 or WR4.
Johnson remains a huge part of the equation, too. Last season, he asked a lot of his young quarterback, and that approach was meant to test how Williams would handle it. Year 2 figures to be more about growth, and that should open up even more of the offense through Johnson’s play-calling.
Bears fans are looking for a major jump in 2026, and with this much talent around him, the expectation is clear: Williams should be pushing toward top-five status at his position by the end of the year.
In Other News...
Jay Cutler Pulled Back Into Another Awkward Public Divorce Fight
Jay Cutler has been dragged back into an uncomfortable post-divorce public back-and-forth with Kristin Cavallari, years after the former Bears quarterback and the reality TV personality finalized their split in 2022. The divorce ended nearly seven years of marriage, and the two have remained linked by the fact that they share three children and agreed to joint custody, a setup that has kept their family life in the public eye even after the legal process was supposed to be behind them.
The latest round of comments has once again put the settlement under a microscope, with Cutler pushing back on Cavallaris version of how things were handled. He has pointed to the fact that the divorce went through Tennessee court, suggesting the financial terms were handled there rather than in the way Cavallari has described, which has only added another awkward layer to a split that still seems to invite debate whenever either side speaks publicly. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Just Quietly Set Up A Bigger Tight End Decision
Sam Roush is officially under contract, giving the Bears one less rookie negotiation to worry about and a clearer picture of how their tight end room is taking shape. The third-round pick signed a four-year deal worth $7.35 million, and his arrival closes the book on Chicagos rookie class after he became the final Bears draft pick to put pen to paper.
What makes the move interesting is less the paperwork than the role waiting for him. Chicago is planning to use Roush primarily as a blocking tight end in its 2026 offense, with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet expected to handle most of the passing work. It is a subtle arrangement on the surface, but it also hints at how the Bears want to balance their tight end usage as they sort out who does what in the years ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Suddenly Have A Reason To Believe In Caleb Williams' Protection
The Bears offensive line is starting to look like a real strength heading into 2026, which is a welcome shift for a team trying to give Caleb Williams a cleaner path in his second season. With Joe Thuney and Braxton Jones already part of the picture, the additions of Garrett Bradbury and Logan Jones have pushed the group into a conversation it has not often been part of in recent years.
NFL analyst Warren Sharp even went as far as ranking Chicagos line sixth in the league, a sign that the units stability is being taken seriously outside Halas Hall. If that evaluation holds and the front five comes together the way it appears capable of, the Bears could be looking at more than just better protection for Williams - they could be building the kind of foundation that changes the ceiling of the entire roster. [Read more 🡒]