LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Caleb Williams has spent the last three weeks of practice feeling out the possibilities of the Chicago Bears' offense, and he emerged from mandatory minicamp Thursday with one predominant thought.
“Right now we're working with our heads down and we're building,” Williams said. “So I have that moment with myself and I do it every day. I sit there and say, 'We're going to be really good.'”
Williams, the No. 1 overall draft pick, experienced ups and downs during the Bears' three-day minicamp, but coach Matt Eberflus said he saw progress in the way he handled Thursday's red zone period compared to last week. . The rookie quarterback also improved the way he lined up formations, changed protections and showed an understanding of various passing concepts.
“I think Caleb is a talent,” Eberflus said. “A very good talent. His game will get to where he needs to be.”
Williams praised his teammates for being “graceful and encouraging” with him during practices, encouraging him on days when the offense excels and offering words of encouragement when the unit is struggling.
The quarterback noted his struggles perfecting cadence, which Eberflus said earlier in the week he wanted the entire offense to improve before laying off veteran players until training camp.
At the end of minicamp, Williams said he felt like he had improved by not being too loud or too quiet in vocalizing the snap count and showing his ability to throw ahead of time better than he did earlier in the week.
“I didn't necessarily come in with the expectation of being and looking like a 13-year veteran,” Williams said. “I came to work, to work hard, to show the guys that I'm here, I'm working hard, I'm progressing and trying not to make the same mistake again. That's the most important thing, day after day, is to try not to make the same mistake.” same mistake over and over again and learn from them.
The Bears rookies will conclude spring training next week with three more days of OTA practices before resting for the summer. In the coming weeks, Chicago's front office will work to get the team's two first-round picks (Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze) under contract.
The value of Williams' four-year contract is estimated at $39.5 million with a signing bonus of $25.5 million. The No. 1 overall pick is not represented by an agent and is in the hands of a team of lawyers and advisors to close the deal.
“I'm not going to handle that,” Williams said. “I've been focused on these last three days of minicamp, the OTAs before that and the rookie camp before that… I have lawyers and attorneys to handle things like that so I can have a free mentality on the field, enjoying going into the game. field”. “Work every day and work hard.”
