There will be many aspects of new Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ play to scrutinize in his rookie season, and that’s well underway in the early phase of mandatory minicamp.
The nitpick item of the day Tuesday was his cadence at the line of scrimmage, which led to several false starts and frustration from coach Matt Eberflus. Williams also threw an ugly interception in seven-on-seven work, though Eberflus seemed more inclined to overlook that.
Williams also made impressive throws into tight windows, hitting receiver DJ Moore on the sidelines a few times and making nice passes underneath to receiver Keenan Allen and running back D’Andre Swift.
But Williams has time to smooth this out. Tons of it. Not only is he more than three months away from his NFL debut, but he still has a month and a half before training camp.
‘‘He’s going to be here for a while,’’ Allen said. ‘‘By the time we get to training camp, he’ll be well-oiled on what we’ve got going on.’’
The cadence issue is fairly common, given that rookie quarterbacks typically have spent most of their college careers in the shotgun and then are predominantly under center in the NFL. The Bears worked through a similar situation with Justin Fields in 2021.
Eberflus said it wasn’t so much a problem with Williams or the offensive line but an issue in which both sides can help each other establish something that works.
‘‘You just have to get the reps and get it right,’’ he said. ‘‘You can’t just go, ‘Ready, set, hut,’ the entire time. . . . We’ve got to do all the counts that everybody else has in the NFL. We have to use that as a weapon to hold those defensive linemen at bay and to get them offsides.’’
Williams practiced behind a nearly complete starting offensive line, with only right guard Nate Davis on the sideline. The Bears weren’t in full pads, so he didn’t face a full-on pass rush.
The cadence issue is fixable, and the interception illustrated Williams’ steep learning curve as he adapts to how fast everything moves in the NFL. He had an open receiver over the middle but double-clutched. By the time he threw, the opportunity was gone and his pass sailed to safety Kevin Byard.
Allen said one of the most helpful takeaways from his time playing with Pro Bowl quarterbacks Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert with the Chargers that he wants to convey to Williams is to trust what he sees and to be decisive. It’s hard to do that at first, however, and Williams’ hesitation cost him Tuesday. The Bears hope he can work through that in practice and is up to speed when the season starts.
‘‘We’re just doing a really good job of getting experience,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘Get him exposure. Let him experiment with his arm talent and the receivers that he has. Eventually, player development happens and the evolution of a quarterback happens.’’
There usually wouldn’t be all that much of a rush for a rookie quarterback to figure everything out, but Williams’ case is different. He’s the long-hyped next star quarterback, and Eberflus and others at Halas Hall have jobs riding on his success.
Williams also stepped into a team in which the rest of the roster is mostly set up to contend now — a rarity for a quarterback picked at or near the top of the draft. He has three receivers who think they can put up 1,000 yards and above-average talent in Swift and tight end Cole Kmet. Plus, the defense thinks it can be among the top 10 in the league.
The Bears might want to be patient with Williams, but there is a sense of urgency in the building.
‘‘It’s a good thing that our quarterback’s highly competitive and he’s of high character, so he’s gonna be pushing that ball down the court,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘I don’t think we have to worry about that.’’
