Caleb Williams has not been bad. Chicago Bears fans know bad quarterback play. They’ve lived it for most of the past 80 years. There have been only brief breaks of sunshine through the constant storms of awful. What Williams has accomplished since arriving should be commended, especially after what he went through as a rookie. That said, nobody would consider his results to this point anything close to top-tier by NFL standards. He has been solid to good most of the time. However, everybody knows that usually isn’t enough to win championships.

If the Bears want to break through in the NFC, they need their young quarterback to take another step. Expecting him to do that not even halfway into his second season seems premature. As we’ve seen with guys like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, it can take time to find your footing in the NFL. Williams is finally in a situation under Ben Johnson that can help him develop. The question is whether the coaching staff feels this is something worth pursuing. One can’t forget they didn’t have a say in drafting Williams. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was asked about this.

He made it clear that the coaches are staying patient, but they haven’t committed to him by any means.

The remainder of the season is huge for Williams. He has shown growth and reacted favorably to direct messaging and coaching from Ben Johnson and his staff. The Bears would love to be in a position by the end of the season where they feel 100% confident in Williams as the starter for a bright future for the offense. They’re not at that point, and one big game Sunday against a Baltimore Ravens defense that has been in tatters wouldn’t accomplish that. It would be a nice step, though, no doubt.

I believe the Bears remain encouraged by the prospect of Williams’ development, but he and the team have a lot of ground to travel to get to a point where everyone wants to be. It can be difficult to evaluate at times because the bar for quarterback play in Chicago has been so ridiculously low for so long. That’s one reason a subset of readers couldn’t accept the reality early — and even late — in the Justin Fields era that he wasn’t going to be the guy.

Caleb Williams has earned more time.

He has played well enough through the first six weeks to justify giving him the benefit of the doubt. He’s thrown nine touchdowns to three interceptions and has drastically reduced his sack rate. The challenging part thus far has been learning to take easier throws, keeping the offense on schedule. Caleb Williams has always been naturally aggressive. Sometimes he lets that instinct take over, even when the situation clearly doesn’t call for it. Last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints was a perfect example.

Learning to operate within the confines of an offense is difficult, particularly when it’s one as dense and complex as Johnson’s. Williams still isn’t operating at high processing speeds, which leads to pre-snap penalties, botched snaps, and miscommunications. Contrary to popular belief, this is nothing new. Many young quarterbacks have gone through similar experiences.

Bears coaches don’t need to see Williams become elite by the end of this season. They just want to see progress. If they don’t? That could lead to a difficult conversation next spring.

The Chicago Bears are viewed as potential buyers for the upcoming trade deadline after rebounding to 4-2. They feel like a team that could be a playoff contender if they get some help in the right places. However, some insiders believe the Bears could also be sellers. The name going around is Braxton Jones. Left tackles of his age, experience, and athleticism are rarely available. He should be healthy now from the injury that hobbled him last month. It isn’t crazy to think teams would be interested.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN became the latest to confirm this. He reached out to several people. All agree the winds are favorable for Jones to be traded. Despite his struggles this season, he can still be a decent starter. Three teams were mentioned as possible landing spots.

Braxton Jones, OT, Chicago Bears
The buzz: Rival teams agree that Jones is a sensible trade candidate after his benching in favor of Theo Benedet and his résumé as a multiyear starter in Chicago. Jones also is in a contract year, and he is now healthy following an ankle issue that plagued him for much of 2025. — Fowler

The tape: Jones is an easy mover on the edges with the footspeed to redirect in pass protection. While Jones can struggle with power rushers, he still grades out as a lower-tier starter. In six games played this season, Jones has a pass block win rate of 90.2%. — Bowen

Predicted chance of getting traded: 25%
Team fits: Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers

The Raiders lost left tackle Kolton Miller to an injury against the Bears a few weeks ago. Ironically, that was the same game in which Jones got benched. The same was true of the Chargers, who lost Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater for the season. The Rams typically prefer athletic tackles, so their interest is understandable as well.

Braxton Jones will likely fetch a late round pick.

Typical trades of this type hover around a 6th rounder. No team will give up anything higher knowing it’s likely that Braxton Jones will leave in free agency next offseason. A 6th is the going rate for rental players. Maybe the Bears can push that to a 5th if they package Jones with a 6th or 7th. If we’re talking about which team is the most desperate, the one to watch is probably the Chargers. They are 26th in pass-blocking efficiency this year. Austin Deculus, who has taken over at left tackle for Slater, has allowed 16 pressures and four sacks in his three starts. It is hard to imagine Jones can’t do better than that. Chicago and L.A. have also done business recently. They worked out the trade for Keenan Allen last year. Either way, it feels like the Bears have a market for Jones’ services.

The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the NFL’s best teams for the past several years, making the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons. They are a model of consistent excellence. However, something has gone horribly wrong this year. A horrific start to the season has seen them stumble to a 1-5 record. It is the worst start to a season in franchise history. Injuries have played a significant role in this, with several star players missing multiple games. One would think head coach Ben Johnson is eager for the Chicago Bears to take advantage of a weakened opponent.

Except he isn’t that naive. The Bears’ head coach was asked about the Ravens’ situation on Wednesday. He did not rise to the bait. There was no mention of the losing record or the struggles. Johnson merely stated they’re a much better football team than the past month suggests.

He also made sure to note that the team isn’t fooled by this will-he-won’t-he situation with Lamar Jackson. The star quarterback didn’t practice on Monday after the bye week, leaving some to wonder if he might miss another game. Johnson has no intention of taking that chance. They’re preparing as if Jackson will play.

Ben Johnson continues to show rapid maturity in handling the media.

It wasn’t too long ago that he all but guaranteed a win going into the Detroit game, only to get blasted 52-21. That served as a stark reminder that a head coach should never give the opponent extra ammunition. Pro athletes often thrive on being doubted or dismissed as afterthoughts. Ben Johnson won’t give Baltimore the satisfaction, even if his team has won four in a row and the Ravens are stumbling. He fully expects to get that team’s best shot on Sunday.

It is a wise course of action. Baltimore is desperate. Another loss all but dooms their season. Only one team that has started 1-6 came back to make the playoffs. That was in 1970. It just doesn’t happen these days. The Ravens need this game in the worst way. It will be all hands on deck, even if Jackson is still not 100%. Chicago must go in prepared for a fight, and it sounds like that is what Johnson plans on doing.

The Chicago Bears have navigated a 0-2 start to the season to reach 4-2. This was done through a mix of mental toughness, teamwork, and some timely good fortune. They watched CeeDee Lamb get hurt in the Dallas game, Kolton Miller get hurt in the Las Vegas game, and Terry McLaurin not play in Washington. Nobody could expect that to last forever, but it could last another week. Chicago is set to travel east for a showdown with the Baltimore Ravens, one of the AFC’s elite teams.

Or at least that was supposed to be the case.

Baltimore is going through the season from hell. Not only are they off to a 1-5 start, but they’ve suffered a bevy of injuries to key players. Chief among them is quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has battled a hamstring issue. He’s already missed two games. The team had hoped he would be able to return after the bye this week against the Bears, but he then missed their Monday practice. Dan Graziano of ESPN contacted individuals close to the situation.

It doesn’t sound encouraging for Sunday.

I don’t believe it’s a sure thing that Lamar Jackson returns from his hamstring injury to play against the Bears on Sunday. Jackson has missed the past two games, and the Ravens have been hoping he could return after their Week 7 bye. But they held a post-bye-week practice Monday, and Jackson did not take part in it. I’ve had a couple of conversations with people familiar with this situation that led me to believe Jackson might miss another game while recovering from the injury and return in Week 9 against the Dolphins. Keep an eye on the injury reports over the next couple of days for signs one way or the other. Monday wasn’t an official practice, so the Ravens weren’t required to issue an injury report.

The Chicago Bears should be grateful if Jackson doesn’t play.

Baltimore’s offense has been a complete mess without him, scoring just 13 points combined over the past two games. Backup Cooper Rush has four interceptions and no touchdown passes, which probably doesn’t bode well against a Chicago Bears defense that leads the league in takeaways. They still have Derrick Henry on the ground, who is averaging 5.0 yards per carry, but it hasn’t been enough to overcome everything else. Jackson’s status for Sunday is a decisive factor.

The Ravens are desperate. Their season is hanging by a thread. Another loss puts them at 1-6 with zero hope of making the playoffs. Conversely, a Bears win puts them at 5-2 with a real chance to build some momentum. Then again, this situation is familiar to Chicago. They missed Jackson last time in 2021. The Ravens still won the game. If he doesn’t play, that doesn’t give them any excuse to relax.

Caleb Williams had his first bad game this season last Sunday. Thankfully, it didn’t matter. A terrific performance by the defense (4 takeaways) and the running game (222 yards) made it irrelevant. Still, many Chicago Bears fans were left nervous about the state of Williams’ development. He still hasn’t taken that genuine big step towards becoming a legitimate franchise quarterback. His completion percentage is actually down from last year, even though his passer rating has improved.

Meanwhile, Drake Maye is having a hell of a run lately in New England. People are struggling to understand why Williams isn’t progressing as quickly. What is the problem? Jeff Hughes of Sports Mockery reached out to his sources with this question. The answer he got back was fairly simple. Coaches believe the primary issue with Williams is processing. Ben Johnson’s offense can be unforgiving in terms of size and scope. It demands a lot of the quarterback mentally. Williams is still learning to cope with the massive flow of information, and it has led to him not always taking the easier throws when available.

Caleb Williams was never going to master this offense immediately.

Jared Goff was a six-year veteran when Johnson took over in 2022 with Detroit and even he needed half a season before things started clicking. Caleb Williams was never developed to play a pro-style offense in college. Then he was subjected to the abomination that was Shane Waldron last year. Johnson has basically had to rebuild this quarterback from the ground up. That takes time. It shouldn’t be surprising that Williams occasionally reverts to some of his old habits.

People have mentioned Josh Allen as a comparison for his developmental progression. That may seem crazy since Allen is now a superstar. However, people forget how long it took for him to get there. Allen’s second season was rife with ups and downs. He completed less than 59% of his passes and barely cracked 3,000 yards and was a non-factor in Buffalo’s playoff loss to Houston. The Bills didn’t care. They saw growth along the way and stayed the course.

Chicago should absolutely do the same with Williams.