6 lingering questions heading into Chicago Bears training camp

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — With the Chicago Bears set to embark on their first training camp practice Saturday, here are a half-dozen lingering questions the team will need to answer as the NFL regular season continues to approach.

1. What if Caleb Williams isn’t ‘that guy’?

It’s a question Bears fans likely dread thinking about, but given the history of this franchise and their holy ineptitude when it comes to developing quarterbacks, it’s something that needs to be addressed, with contingency plans in place should Williams not live up to his billing under center from the get-go.

The measuring stick everyone in Chicago wants to use when it comes to Williams is CJ Stroud, but to expect the USC product to come out the gates like the 2023 No. 2 overall pick did, given Stroud is an anomaly when it comes to rookie quarterback production, isn’t the fairest expectation.

Sure, he could come out and put up more touchdowns than turnovers and give the Bears 4,000 total yards of offense, and it’s reasonable to believe he’s capable with the cast of characters that exist at the offensive skill positions in Chicago, but what if he has a rookie season similar to Bryce Young or Trevor Lawrence?

Both of those quarterbacks were No. 1 overall picks, and they both finished their rookie seasons with more turnovers than touchdowns.

In the instance Williams underperforms, the team’s overall performance could depend on the run game and success of their defense — A familiar theme for the franchise.

2. What if Ryan Poles doesn’t add a pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat?

This is one of those questions where the answer should become more apparent as training camp gets underway.

While Williams will face pressure from the Bears pass rush, they can’t put their paws on him, but the offensive and defensive lines can put their paws on each other, which should give those watching the team an idea of whether someone from the group of DeMarcus Walker, Dominique Robinson, Khalid Kareem and Austin Booker can establish themselves as an effective Robin to Montez Sweat’s Batman.

Other variables to this question include whether Sweat can stay healthy (He missed six games in 2021 with a broken jaw), and what free agents are still available when and if the Bears decide to bring someone in to help, like Yannick Ngakoue, Carl Lawson or Emmanuel Ogbah.

If Poles remains indifferent to adding a pass rusher, regardless of developments opposite of Sweat, it could also hint toward Chicago’s front office thinking the team is still one year away from truly contending, lending credence to the Bears chasing after a talented EDGE in a deep 2025 NFL draft class.

3. Who is the corner starting across from Jaylon Johnson?

Seemingly all but one spot has been nailed down in a Chicago secondary that’s looking to become an elite unit in 2024.

Jaylon Johnson is your CB1, while Kyler Gordon will man the nickel with Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard occupying the Bears’ two starting safety spots.

That leaves the corner slot opposite of Johnson up for grabs between Tyrique Stevenson, Terrell Smith and Josh Blackwell.

Stevenson would appear to have the inside track toward being CB2 after Chicago spent a second round pick on him in the 2023 draft, and he collected six turnovers in his rookie season (4 INT, 2 FF).

4. What if Gervon Dexter doesn’t develop into a talented 3-tech?

The bread-and-butter of a Matt Eberflus defense is predicated on the front four being able to get pressure on the quarterback without blitzing, and the linchpin of that ideology centers around having a 3-tech on the interior who consistently wins his matchups, which in this Bears defense, is Gervon Dexter.

Can Dexter, and to a lesser extent, Zacch Pickens, make the jump forward to effectively fill that role for this defense?

General Manager Ryan Poles elected not to bring back veteran Justin Jones this offseason, meaning the opportunity has been wholly set in front of Dexter for the taking, it’s just a question of whether or not he ends up developing into the 3-tech Chicago believes he can.

5. Who is snapping the ball to Caleb Williams?

The center-quarterback relationship is as important as any other on the offense, and if the chemistry isn’t there, it can spell disaster before plays even begin to develop.

It would go a long way toward properly developing Williams if the man in charge of snaps is a smooth operator, case and point of the opposite being that fans should remember plenty of the one hoppers and over-the-head heaves guys like Lucas Patrick delivered to the now-departed Justin Fields in 2023.

The solution to that? The Bears signed Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates over the offseason, and both are primed to compete for the starting center role, with the other providing depth along the interior of the offensive line.

But will that be enough?

Before selecting Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft, another option on the board for Chicago was to trade back, acquire more draft capital and target an option in the trenches, like Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, who ended up going 44th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The performance of Shelton and Bates early on will be telling of how stable the center position is, and whether the Bears have done enough to address the position from last year.

6. Will it be obvious Shane Waldron is a better offensive coordinator than Luke Getsy?

Is it Justin Fields? Is it Luke Getsy’s play-calling? Does Chicago have enough talent on the offense to get it all going? There was a whole barrel of questions surrounding what the offense was up to last year, and almost none of it was positive.

The primary question when it comes to the scheme on that side of the ball heading into 2024 will be whether Shane Waldron can find success calling plays, in comparison to the struggles experienced by the Bears last offensive coordinator, just a season prior.

If anything, Chicago’s front office has done their best to give Waldron a similar scenario to walk into — Aka there’s an uncanny resemblance when it comes to the level of talent in place at the skill positions between Waldron’s current role and his previous one.

Chicago is three deep at wide receiver like the Seattle Seahawks were (Moore/Allen/Odunze compared to Lockett/Metcalf/Smith-Njigba). The Bears have two pass catching tight ends like the Seahawks did (Kmet/Everett compared to Fant/Parkinson), and Chicago also has a feature running back that can play all three downs like Seattle did too (D’Andre Swift compared to Kenneth Walker III).

Will a similar assortment of weapons help Waldron settle in? Time will tell, as it will with all of these questions. Until then though, Bears training camp kicks off Saturday.

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