The Bears are trying to make Caleb Williams’ life a little easier this offseason, and they’re doing it with a lesson borrowed from Donna Summer.
That idea surfaced through Bears quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, who said his goal this spring was to show Williams that, “ We don’t have to work as hard for our money.” It’s a line that points straight to Summer’s 1980s hit “She Works Hard For The Money,” and the message for Chicago’s quarterback is pretty clear: the Bears want him winning with efficiency, not just improvisation.
That matters because Williams already showed how dangerous he can be in 2025. Albert Breer of the MMQB has tracked the third-year quarterback after a second season that included a franchise-record passing yardage total, seven fourth-quarter comebacks and a playoff win.
But the year also came with a glaring flaw. Williams finished with the worst completion percentage of any starter in the NFL, and too many routine throws either missed the mark or never came out at all.
Fixing that has been priority No. 1 for the Bears heading into 2026.
Last summer, Ben Johnson, Declan Doyle and Barrett loaded Williams up with information and pushed him hard. This summer, the plan sounds more like teaching him the value of the easy money throws.
Barrett’s point is that Williams doesn’t need to turn every snap into a highlight play. Sometimes the smarter answer is the short completion, the dump-off, the checkdown.
Five 4-yard gains can do the job just as well as one 20-yard shot.
Johnson and his staff understand that last season’s version of the offense is hard to duplicate. They know the magic from 2025 isn’t something you can bank on again just by asking for more of it. If the Bears are going to keep climbing, they need cleaner football, and that starts with Williams taking what the defense gives him.
Breer’s reporting suggests the team has reason to believe that’s coming. He noted last season that it might take time for Williams to settle in, and that proved true.
Williams said it wasn’t until the rematch against Minnesota that he and Johnson finally got on the same page. Since then, the signs from OTAs and minicamps this spring have pointed to a quarterback who looks more comfortable and more in sync.
And there’s a simple number that backs up the optimism. In seven career games in which Williams has completed 67% or more of his passes, the Bears are 5-2. They were one blocked field goal away from being 6-1.
Donna Summer may never have played a snap in Chicago, but the message fits anyway. The Bears want Williams to stop making every throw a grind and start cashing in on the easy ones. If he does, the payoff could be a lot bigger than just a smoother offseason.
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