Former Chicago Bears tight end defends Caleb Williams’ rookie season

The Chicago Bears are entering year two of the Caleb Williams era with much more hope than they had prior to his rookie season getting underway. Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times as a rookie and seemingly never once looked fully comfortable in whatever pocket he was provided. The team finished with a 5-12 record and concluded the season snapping an 11-game losing streak with a win against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Williams completed the year with 3,541 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Even though fans were hoping for over 4,000 pass yards from the former USC Trojan, he still became the first ever Bears rookie quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season.

Throughout the brutal losing streak, Williams did not make many mistakes with the football. He threw just one interception in the 11-game skid, and it came against the Seahawks in an abysmal Thursday night loss the day after Christmas.

Based on the numbers and how he dealt with adversity on numerous occasions, the case can be made that Williams did much better in his rookie year than how his fellow first-year signal callers would have done in the Windy City.

Former Chicago Bears’ TE Marcedes Lewis defends Caleb Williams

The third-oldest player in the NFL last season also happened to be a member of the Bears offense with Williams. Marcedes Lewis sat down on FS1 with Colin Cowherd and the 23-year-old quarterback was a major focus of their discussion. The veteran tight end had nothing but praise for Williams after having a tough introduction to the league.

“The firing of coaches, it was a lot going on and he was trying to do the best job he could,” Lewis said. “The offense obviously shifted midway through the season. I think obviously bringing Ben Johnson in and pairing him with Caleb’s ability to be who he is, and Ben get into his mind and create this offense around him…. I’m looking forward to it.”

Lewis also talked about the possibility of him returning to the Bears for a third season, which would be his 20th in the league. The 2006 first-round draft choice wasn’t much of a contributor in the pass catching game for Chicago a season ago, as he had one reception for two yards. Lewis is more of a blocking tight end and a leader in the locker room, but it is unknown if he’ll be wanted back with a new coaching staff in place.

The Chicago Bears have positioned Caleb Williams for success

The offensive line has been fixed up majorly for Williams ahead of his second NFL season. Ryan Poles went out and acquired Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney in separate trades a week before free agency officially opened. They will each occupy a guard spot this season, paving the way for a massive signing at center in former Atlanta Falcon Drew Dalman as soon as the tampering window opened on March 10.

The tackles will remain the same with Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright holding the fort down against the edge rushers looking to get to Williams. When it comes to the weapons Williams has to work with, he will still have DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet on the outside. More help could be coming on the ground and the third receiver might very well join the group at some point in the draft.