The intensity of new head coach Ben Johnson was one of the main takeaways from the Chicago Bears‘ practice session on Wednesday. The workout was the first that was open to the media for voluntary minicamp at OTAs this spring.
One of the bigger talking points was Johnson yelling at Cole Kmet when the veteran tight end lined up incorrectly.
However, Johnson got on the case of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
Ben Johnson’s got on Caleb Williams
Per Adam Hoge of CHGO, Johnson got on Williams after the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft made his best pass of the day.
“It’s interesting that one, what appeared to be his best throw of the entire day, when he hit DJ Moore deep down that left sideline, it was probably more like a deep out… Caleb came back towards where the coaches were. Ben Johnson was like, ‘You can’t do that.’
“Like, so I don’t know what wasn’t right there, but again, it gets back to the accountability thing. I like that. Like, even what appeared to be a great moment, Ben Johnson was still getting after him. So I think the thing of all, this stuff that matters as we’re talking about this on May 21, I just think it’s that setting that standard setting that account level accountability.”
Ben Johnson + Caleb Williams = A work in progress. 🚧 pic.twitter.com/ASiqJwiwPc
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) May 22, 2025
The Chicago Bears have a long way to go before Williams is polished
Overall, Mark Carman didn’t think Williams had a good day on Wednesday. He thinks Williams has a “long way to go” before he can be successful in 2025.
“Caleb Williams, I was expecting, I was hoping that the Ben Johnson impact would be immediate. The impact is not immediate,” Carman said of Williams’ development under Johnson since OTAs started in April. “He’s throwing off his back foot. He’s running out of bounds. He’s doing weird sidearm throws to no one. He’s overshooting receivers. He’s doing it while they’re doing live drills.
“He’s doing it while they’re just doing random, just throwing drills. It was not a good day for 18. So, look, he’s going to be the Bears quarterback. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s also no doubt that I’m sure that Ben Johnson is seeing that there was a long way to go for him to be successful. And I don’t know, I just thought the Ben Johnson impact would be immediate. It is not immediate.”
Williams was unhappy with the coaching staff last year because they didn’t coach him up. The good news from Carman and Hoge is that Johnson is willing to tell Williams what he’s doing at OTAs is wrong. Hopefully, Williams will start doing the right things when practices are open to the media later this month and during training camp.
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