One of the more surprising additions the Chicago Bears made this offseason was signing Damien Williams. The running back last played a football game in the Super Bowl back in February of 2020. While Patrick Mahomes won MVP honors, Williams was the hero of that game, helping to close it out with a decisive touchdown in the final minutes. However, his career path changed when COVID-19 hit.
Fearing for the health of his mother, the former undrafted free agent decided to opt out of the 2020 season. That choice was likely aided by the Kansas City Chiefs drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the 1st round a few months prior. Just like that, his time with the team was at an end. Now with vaccines rolling out, Williams was ready for an NFL return. Not wishing to learn an entirely new system, he saw Matt Nagy and the Bears as a perfect fit.
He doesn’t seem to regret that decision.
Getting situated has been easy thus far. He already loves the running back room with David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, calling them some of the funniest teammates he’s been around. At the same time, Williams also might be counting his good fortune in another way. The arrival of Justin Fields. When asked about his first impressions of the Bears’ rookie quarterback, the veteran hinted that Fields looks even better than the buzz out of OTAs suggest.
Everybody was talking about a huge bomb Fields threw to Damiere Byrd for a touchdown on Wednesday. Williams offered an indication that was far from the only big throw the rookie made in that practice alone. If Bears fans were looking for another reason to be excited, this certainly qualifies.
Damien Williams is often a herald of good QB tidings
This has proven true from the moment he arrived in the NFL. In 2014, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins. That same year, Ryan Tannehill had his breakout season with 4,045 yards, 27 TDs, and 12 interceptions. The first sign that he was going to be a pretty good quarterback. After three seasons there, Williams moved on to Kansas City in 2018. That happened to be Mahomes’ first season starting, the same year he threw for over 5,000 yards, 50 touchdowns, and won league MVP.
Maybe this offers a ray of hope that the good vibes about Fields are accurate. Damien Williams always seems to find his way into the same huddle as quality quarterbacks. That aside, his presence on the team should only make life easier for the Bears rookie. A trio of him, Montgomery, and Cohen offer plenty of potential in the ground game. Something that would allow the team to avoid putting too much pressure on both Fields and Andy Dalton.
A logical and time-tested approach.
Head coach Matt Nagy seemed to embrace this style down the stretch of 2020. The team only seemed to feed into it further with their offensive line additions this spring. Particularly Teven Jenkins in the 2nd round of the draft. Don’t be surprised if Williams gets a considerable amount of action as the season unfolds.