The Chicago Bears have plenty of reasons to be excited going into this season. For the first time in ages, they appear to have assembled a coaching staff with actual credibility. Ben Johnson, Dennis Allen, Al Harris, and Atwaan Randle El all bring degrees of prestige to the organization. Caleb Williams is coming off the best season a Bears rookie quarterback has ever had. He’ll be surrounded by a significantly bolstered supporting cast, including a totally revamped offensive line. For once, the biggest concerns aren’t with the offense.

To be fair, there isn’t much panic about the Bears’ defense. They have talent at all three levels, headlined by Montez Sweat, T.J. Edwards, and Jaylon Johnson. However, the saying goes you’re only as strong as your weakest link. The defense might be their depth, particularly at one spot. Aaron Schatz of ESPN believes the Bears took an unnecessary risk by not adding more at edge rusher. They are leaning on the development of Austin Booker, which, by his calculations, is not the best idea.

Nonstarter to know: Edge rusher Austin Booker. There’s very little depth on the edge, so the Bears will need contributions from Booker, a 2024 fifth-round pick. But Booker was one of the lowest-ranking prospects in last year’s class, according to my SackSEER projections. Booker had 1.5 sacks and eight pressures last season, according to FTN Data charting. That was less production than departed edge backups Darrell Taylor or Jacob Martin. — Schatz

The Chicago Bears badly need Booker to ascend.

Nobody disputes the young man’s talent. He has the explosiveness and length that good pass rushers usually need. His primary issues have been a lack of arsenal of moves and overall power. That was a big reason he fell to the 5th round last year. The Chicago Bears still believe he has tons of room to grow, and Booker has a strong work ethic. His confidence seems unshakeable. Perhaps the thing he needed most was opportunities. He wasn’t getting them with Darrell Taylor and Jacob Martin in the picture. Make no mistake. This upcoming training camp is decisive for Booker. If he can show progress, he’ll be the rotational pass rusher the team needs to spell Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo. If he doesn’t, expect a corresponding move to bring in more depth.

When Tom Brady was the quarterback of the New England Patriots, Pats fans knew the first meaningful game of their season would be played in January. When Peyton Manning was the quarterback in Indy, Colts fans knew the same. Currently, the folks in Kansas City and Buffalo enthusiastically attend the ballgames in September, October, November, and December, but every single one of them knows the truth: regular season drama is for the other teams, the other fans, the lesser beings. Sports are boring for these fan bases until a loss sends you home for a long offseason of “what could have been?”

Watching Scottie Scheffler win his second major championship of 2025, and the fourth major championship of his career, something occurred to me: greatness is, in many cases, fundamentally boring. Or put more fairly, greatness can often be uninspiringly impressive. Think Federer and Sampras. Think the Duncan Spurs. Think the late-90s Yankees. Hell, think about the guy down the office who simply shows up on time, gets his work done efficiently, and walks out the door at 5:01 PM.

If you weren’t a Tiger Woods fan, nothing was more boring than Tiger’s dominance. If you didn’t live in Chicago, you slept through the NBA playoffs of the 1990s. When folks describe Scottie Scheffler’s game as “boring,” I understand it. He doesn’t come with the adoring, rapturous crowds of Tiger. His game doesn’t have the flashy runs of Rory. He hits the fairway. He hits the green. He makes the putt. He wins. And sometimes he wins by so much you turn the television off.

Greatness has a distinguishable feature: stability. And for the Chicago Bears, stability has been a lacking characteristic since the Jerry Angelo/Lovie Smith partnership was absurdly disbanded in the early part of the last decade. But now they have a number one pick in the draft at quarterback and the most coveted coach on the market in charge of the operation. Those two individuals are employed to entertain the faithful, sure, but their primary responsibility is to stabilize the franchise and usher in an era of winning. Boring, boring, winning.

That starts this week, at camp, the first collaboration of their partnership. What do I want to hear out of Lake Forest the next weeks? Nothing. Not a thing. Bore me. And keep boring me until you’re playing relevant football in the early weeks of 2026.

One of the biggest problems with the Chicago Bears isn’t that they’re cheap or ignorant of player needs. They’ve been pretty good about providing necessary resources. The core issue, or at least one of them, has been the franchise’s inability to take advantage of new trends. There was a time when the Bears were on the cutting edge of football. George Halas was among the first to utilize training camps, coaching staffs, and a passing offense that featured a man in motion. Buddy Ryan revolutionized NFL defense in the 1980s with his exotic blitz schemes. After that, the Bears have been one of those teams that are constantly behind the times. Now, a new trend is emerging, and it could help Caleb Williams develop.

Virtual reality has long been considered a novelty. It’s cool to a certain extent, but the technology never made it commercially viable in the 1990s and 2000s. Things have changed. Modern tech has made it more advanced than ever, and one of the growing industries is football simulations. Washington Commanders breakout star Jayden Daniels credits it with his excellent processing speed, running plays at 1.75 times normal speed. He is no longer alone. The current #1 overall pick, Cam Ward, also credits VR for transforming his game.

Since processing speed is considered Williams’ primary issue going into this season, the Bears seem to be doing him a disservice by not utilizing this.

Caleb Williams isn’t just up against other good quarterbacks.

He’s up against those who are ready and willing to embrace every technological advancement to improve. Nobody disputes the work ethic of the Bears quarterback. He puts in all the time necessary to become great. The issue is he’s making it harder for himself than it needs to be. If VR can help sharpen the one area of his game that is considered a weakness, Caleb Williams is duty-bound to at least try it. Money isn’t an issue. Just one game check from his rookie contract should be more than enough to pay for the best setup. The Bears have plenty of tech experts. They could easily revamp an entire room inside Halas Hall to accommodate this. It’d be like a holodeck from the classic Star Trek episodes. This is not something the Bears should hesitate on. Don’t let other teams get the jump on them again.

The NFL is never boring. It is the most powerful sports league in North America and might also be the most dysfunctional. Crazy stuff seems to happen every year. There is no better soap opera in the entertainment business. That is proving true again as the Chicago Bears and other teams become subject to one of the craziest Game Of Thrones-style controversies in recent memory. One that saw a former player try to make the mother of all powerplays, only to see it blow up spectacularly in his face.

Things began unfolding when an in-depth report from Pablo Torre and Mike Florio revealed that now-former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell was involved in a string of questionable dealings. That included misusing union funds to visit strip clubs and colluding with the NFL to cover up the intent of owners to avoid handing out fully guaranteed contracts.

Yet somehow that isn’t the craziest part.

It turns out JC Tretter, former center and NFLPA chief strategy officer, was behind the entire thing. He bent union rules to get Howell hired, covered up the background check, knew Howell was involved with a private equity group that intended to buy into NFL teams, and greenlit both collusion cases. The goal was to eventually let Howell get himself fired so Tretter could step in and claim the executive director job. That goal is now dead, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that Tretter is stepping away from all players’ union duties.

The former NFLPA president, who has served as chief strategy officer for the players’ union since October, told CBS Sports on Sunday that he will not only be excluding himself from the running as interim executive director of the union, he will no longer remain with the NFLPA as of this week.

Chicago Bears players have a chance to institute needed changes.

It has long been felt that the NFLPA is among the weakest and most corrupt organizations in professional sports. Too often, their top decision-makers haven’t acted in the best interest of players. Hell, none of their recent executive directors even played in the league. Many former players are calling for significant reforms, hoping to install leadership that will be willing to put up more of a fight against NFL owners, especially with a new CBA on the horizon. That is what makes the upcoming vote to replace Howell so critical. Chicago Bears players and others have not taken their union duties seriously enough. If they want to fight for their fair share of the league’s massive profits, they must be willing to stand up for themselves.

GM Ryan Poles is primarily responsible for assembling the Chicago Bears roster. However, head coach Ben Johnson will determine how those players are used. Most people assume the focus will center on running back D'Andre Swift, wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, and tight ends Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Johnson loved running “12” personnel in Detroit and has a far more talented combo of tight ends this time. However, it would be wise not to ignore another chess piece on the board.

There was excitement when the Bears scooped up Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden in the 2nd round in April. What people haven’t grasped is how excited Johnson is. The assumption was that Burden was a fallback plan after the team failed to land running TreVeyon Henderson. Truth be told, Johnson has far bigger plans for Burden than he’s indicated to this point. A source informed SM that the head coach, receiver, and quarterback Caleb Williams have had private film sessions together leading up to training camp.

Ben Johnson has all sorts of ideas for Burden.

That shouldn’t be surprising. Though he plays wide receiver, he has the capability to handle multiple positions. He can line up at running back, in the slot, on the outside, and just about anywhere. Missouri used him in various fashions with jet sweeps, reverses, handoffs, wild cats, etc. All he needs is a coach with the creativity to unlock his full potential. Everybody knows there are few offensive minds in the NFL with a greater mad scientist reputation than Ben Johnson. He was notorious for his gadget and trick plays in Detroit. One can only imagine the wacky things he’s cooking up for Burden. This is without mentioning how the rookie is fully capable of being a traditional receiver. Defenders aren’t going to like him very much.

National critics have been tough on Caleb Williams all offseason. Most of it centers around the disappointing 5-12 season he had for the Chicago Bears last year, punctuated by taking a franchise record 68 sacks. Some have already begun questioning if he is the real deal or not. This is undoubtedly fed by the fact that Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, who were selected after him, made the playoffs. Never mind that both players had much better coaching staffs around them. Something nobody would dare say about Williams.

Despite all of that, the Bears’ young quarterback has maintained that last year was last year. He is focused on this season, intent on showing everybody how much he’s learned. He’ll have way more help this time. Ben Johnson brings his immense offensive aptitude with him from Detroit. The offensive line was significantly bolstered in free agency and the draft. Still, Williams must be ready to improve his own game as well. He arrived at training camp early to send a message that he intends to do exactly that.

Rookies were scheduled to report on July 19th, with veterans following on the 22nd. Williams showed up with the rookies.

Caleb Williams seems to be taking Johnson’s advice.

He is embracing the importance of the details. This doesn’t just mean the Xs and Os, mind you. It is also about the little things with leadership: body language, communication, and showing up to work earlier than he has to. Quarterbacks hold a great responsibility in the NFL. They aren’t just expected to throw accurate passes. Leadership is at the core of what makes the great ones. Men with the most power on the field should be expected to demand the most from themselves. That means hard work. Caleb Williams has said this is what he wants. He wants that pressure on his shoulders. Small as this camp gesture might be, it still sends the right message. The quarterback is all in.