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Courtney Cronin
LAKE FOREST, Ailing. — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has confronted ginormous expectations throughout his soccer profession, from the time he gained the Heisman Trophy at USC to being drafted No. 1 in 2024.
Falling wanting the objectives he set for himself and the workforce throughout the Bears’ 5-12 end final season weighed on the quarterback. That performed a task in Williams, 23, publicly declaring a number of ambitions he has for himself in 2025, together with throwing for 4,000 yards whereas finishing 70% of his passes.
However even amid such lofty objectives and the expectation that he’ll turn into Chicago’s franchise quarterback, Williams stated he does not really feel any exterior weight to ship on these guarantees.
“Stress’s not a factor for me,” Williams stated on ESPN 1000’s “Waddle & Silvy” present. “I do not consider it that manner.
“It isn’t my job to care what the skin noise is and issues like that. My job is care for every little thing in right here and go on the market and play. I do know we did not win as many video games as we wished to final 12 months, however I did not go 20 [touchdowns] and 20 interceptions and issues like that. So, you already know, take it for what you need, however no strain is prevalent; strain is a privilege, however you already know the scenario that I am at. I do not suppose I’ve strain.”
Williams threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions as a rookie, which was the fifth-best single-season output ever by a Bears quarterback. Reaching his 4,000-yard aim for 2025 would make him the primary quarterback in franchise historical past to satisfy that mark. Although he’ll have to attend till September to begin chipping away at that aim, the quarterback put collectively arguably his greatest apply of coaching camp Thursday, when unplanned moments served as a instructing floor for Bears coach Ben Johnson.
“We had been marching down the sphere, and the headset began going out on me, and I received sort of pissed off,” Williams stated. “Ben came visiting to me after, and he was like, ‘Have a couple of performs in thoughts if that ever occurs.’ That is extra of accountability to me and to this workforce and having a couple of performs that if the clock’s operating down, headset goes out or it is spiking or one thing — you possibly can’t hear the playcall — it is a have a couple of performs, go on the market and do not go on the market palms up and complain and issues like that. Preserve going.”
The expansion Williams has displayed over the primary eight days of camp earned reward from his head coach.
“He is aware of what’s coming, and we’re attending to the purpose now the place I do not even must say as a lot,” Johnson stated. “He is as exhausting on himself as I am being on him, and he is disillusioned once we’re not spitting the performs out within the huddle the way in which we should always or we’re not taking the right drop or our eyes aren’t in the correct place.
“He is attending to that time the place it is extra self-correction, and we’re off and operating from there. I am actually enthusiastic about the place he is at mentally.”
