The Bears may be on bye, but the conversation around Caleb Williams keeps rolling.
Chicago’s 7-2 start has put the team in a strong spot, and even with a relatively quiet trade deadline, there’s still plenty happening around the edges. General manager Ryan Poles took heat for not landing another cornerback or edge rusher, but the Jeffery Simmons move still stands as one of the season’s best additions. For now, the Bears are using the week to catch their breath before the stretch run.
One of the more revealing moments came from Simmons himself. In an interview with Rich Eisen, the new Bears defensive tackle described watching Williams still grinding well after practice had ended on Friday.
"I was getting ready to leave out the building. Of course, I'm going over the game plan again with the D-line coach and just making sure to sharpen everything up.
And as I'm getting ready, I did some recovery stuff as well. But as I'm getting ready to leave out the building, I still see Caleb on the field.
And it's like an hour or so after practice. You can see why, you know, especially because he's still a young guy.
Like, you can see why he having the success he have been having and have had in the past. And then to see the reason why, especially in the locker room, some of your teammates respect you, and they want to go to war with you.
Because he putting into the time to want to be great. And that's amazed me."
Rome Odunze also spent part of the bye week talking about Williams, this time on "Up & Adams" with Kay Adams. The Bears receiver said the two have built their bond over the years by hanging out and playing video games.
"That's my brother. We hang out.
We kick it. We play video games, anything you would do with a brother."
He said the latest version of Call of Duty has been part of that routine during the time off.
"Playing the new Call of Duty this week. Shout-out to Call of Duty.
They got a good one. This was a fun one.
So we've been playing that a good bit. Had some time off in the bye week.
So we've been playing that with some of the other homies as well."
When asked who’s better at the game, Odunze didn’t hesitate.
"Come on now. I'm the best."
Williams also popped up in a different Chicago sports moment this week. After Pete Crow-Armstrong was named NL MVP, the Cubs put out a celebratory video that featured the Bears quarterback. In the clip, a ball hit by Crow-Armstrong smacked Williams’s windshield, and Williams responded by pulling the ball off and adding "MV" in front of Pete to make "MVPete."
The crossover didn’t stop there. Williams and Odunze were also spotted out in Chicago with Crow-Armstrong and Derrick Rose at Adalina Prime, where the group spent time together at the steakhouse.
Even outside the building, the Bears’ young core keeps showing up in ways that keep the buzz around this team alive. An AFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Chicago has impressed around the league, especially with the coaching and Williams at the center of it.
"Chicago is the best-coached," an AFC executive told Fowler. "He's elite.
One of the best in the NFL and only in Year 2. One of the best offenses week-in and week-out, as well.
Defense is solid. Caleb [Williams] just has to play within the scheme and they will win it easily, I believe."
In Other News...
Dennis Allen Faces Three Big Bears Decisions During The Bye
The bye week has arrived with Dennis Allen carrying a familiar kind of midseason homework: sorting out a defense that has shown enough promise to justify a closer look, but not enough consistency to leave alone. For the Bears, the pause offers a chance to rethink some of the personnel and pressure packages that have defined the first stretch of the season, especially on the back end and off the edge.
One of the biggest questions is whether Malik Muhammad has done enough to claim a full-time starting role at outside cornerback over Tyrique Stevenson, a move that would signal a meaningful shift in how Allen wants to line up his secondary. There is also a case for getting Daniel Hardy on the field more often as a pass rusher, while the larger philosophical debate may be whether Allen is ready to lean harder into blitzing after spending much of his time in the league preferring a more measured approach. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Bye Week Could Quietly Fix A Few Trouble Spots
The bye week comes at a good time for a Bears roster that has been dealing with a few nagging issues and a few moving parts. Garrett Bradbury gets a chance to reset physically, while the extra time also gives Chicago a window to get healthier and sort through some of the depth-chart churn that has been forced on the lineup.
Kyle Monangai is expected back from injured reserve, Ozzy Trapilo may be ready to rejoin the lineup, and Malik Muhammad could be on track to return from injury as well. Sam Roush, meanwhile, can use the break to settle in after seeing more playing time than expected, which makes this stretch feel less like dead time and more like a quiet chance to clean up a few trouble spots before the next run of games. [Read more 🡒]
Bears May Have Found A Trade Bonus They Barely Can Use
The Bears trade for Clark Phillips III looked like a savvy little add-on when they sent Gervon Dexter Sr. to Atlanta for a fifth-round pick and the young cornerback. Phillips has flashed enough in limited snaps to make the move feel worthwhile, especially with his ability to hold up in coverage and contribute in pass-rush situations. For a defense that always values depth in the secondary, he has at least given Chicago something to think about.
The catch is that the Bears may not have an easy path to using him much more than they already have. Jaylon Johnson has been trending in the right direction, and Malik Muhammad is back from injury, which tightens the rotation at corner just as Phillips was starting to make a case for more work. It leaves Chicago in a familiar spot with a useful player who may simply be stuck behind healthier, more established options. [Read more 🡒]