Ben Johnson’s arrival in Chicago has brought a different kind of pressure to Caleb Williams, and one former scout believes the Bears are already laying the groundwork for a major decision at quarterback.
Daniel Kelly, a former New York Jets scout, said Johnson has spent two offseasons signaling that he wants more from the position than Williams has delivered so far. On June 30, Kelly posted that Johnson had been dropping hints for two straight offseasons about the kind of quarterback play he expects.
He followed that up today by saying, "Ben Johnson and the Bears are subtly building their case to get rid of Caleb Williams. They keep clearly stating what they want and need out of the quarterback position, and Williams failed to meet those expectations last season, and now there are more expectations this season," Kelly wrote.
Williams entered the league as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, before Johnson arrived in Chicago from the Detroit Lions a year later. His first season brought some clear progress in 2025: he was sacked 24 times after taking 68 sacks the year before, threw seven interceptions on 568 attempts, and authored seven fourth-quarter comebacks. Even so, his accuracy remained uneven.
At the same time, the Bears’ front office has made its support for Johnson plain. Chairman George McCaskey said last week, "He's the face of the franchise," according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
General manager Ryan Poles also spoke about giving Johnson control of the roster, calling it a difficult move that came with trust.
"It made me proud, because there has to be trust to do that," Poles said.
"It's almost like it's your baby and you've got to hand it over, but when you hand it over to the right person, you have a ton of confidence, and you're at peace. ... This is the most at peace that I've been," Poles said.
Chicago went 11-6 last season and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years.
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