Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams fights through training camp’s early ups and downs

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has experienced some ups and downs during his first eight days of training camp.

Despite his occasional struggles, the first pick of the 2024 draft from Southern California believes he’s making progress.

“I think I’m on track to be ready,” Williams said. “I’m exactly where I need to be and where they want me to be. I’m excited.

“Every day I wake up, I’m learning something new. Getting ready for the season, preseason and these next practices. Very excited, still progressing.”

The Bears haven’t decided whether or how much Williams will play in Thursday night’s preseason opener, the Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans at Canton, Ohio. Coach Matt Eberflus was expected to announce his plans for the game on Tuesday, but Williams sees the upside in getting playing time against mostly backups in an extra preseason game.

“The reps are always paramount for anybody like myself — a young rookie, second-year guy, third-year guy — it’s paramount,” Williams said. “It’s really important and we’ll see about these preseason games coming up, how they play out.”

Williams has struggled at times with simple things like the cadence or getting plays off before the play clock expires. At other times, he flashes brilliance with his throws.

At Monday’s practice, he made two passes into tight windows for touchdowns in the back of the end zone. Linebacker Jack Sanborn had to marvel at one.

“I mean, he made a throw in the back that I even gave him a little high-five for, cause it’s impressive,” Sanborn said.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been encouraged by Williams’ ability to accept where he needs to improve and to work at it.

“I think that daily improvement and that positive mindset that he shows up with every single day, both of those things give him a chance to be great because he works hard and he does all the right things around and leading up to every single practice,” Waldron said.

At Saturday’s practice, Williams was picked off by reserve players on successive plays and also had a football knocked out of his hand by edge rusher Montez Sweat, who isn’t supposed to touch the quarterback in practice. It wasn’t Williams’ best day, but he bounced back on Monday after a day off.

“I’m always tough about the mistakes,” Williams said. “That’s the part about me that drives everything, being tough on myself, being tough on the mistakes that happen, whether it’s (missed assignments), a turnover or anything like that, being tough on myself and understanding that there are going to be mistakes.”

Williams continues to look ahead when he’s correcting mistakes.

“I know it’s preparing me for those games late in the season, those preseason games coming up,” he said. “Obviously, I go versus this defense every day, so they make it tough on me.”

An aspect of Williams’ game most evident in the first week of practice was how he can extend a play outside the pocket and improvise for a big throw. He hit Tyler Scott on a deep ball last week off one such play.

That ability was a difference-maker at USC for Williams during his 2022 Heisman Trophy-winning season and again last year.

“It’s a healthy of balance of working on it and understanding, feeling the offensive line and where they’re going, the defensive line and things like that, the play, the scheme that you have been running that play and getting after it and letting it rip,” Williams said.

Perhaps the toughest part for Williams is meeting his own expectations.

“Obviously there’s going to be challenging times,” he said. “It’s not that it’s not coming quicker or slower than I expected.

“It’s more or less just myself, when I go out on the field, I expect myself to not mess up. It’s just how I am.”

The two interceptions were examples of it.

“And so when I do, it’s frustrating, and I would think for any quarterback in the league — there’s only 32 of us that are starting — for any quarterback in the league, I would expect them to be the same of when you go out there you expect to have no (missed assignments), no interceptions, no turnovers and things like that.

“And when you do, it’s frustrating. But it’s how you respond and react to those frustrating times is when you grow and get better.”