Embattled Williams: Feel full support from Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Amid the struggles of the Chicago Bears offense that led to this week’s firing of coordinator Shane Waldron, as well as a report that “a few” veteran players had requested backup Tyson Bagent start at quarterback, Caleb Williams said Wednesday he feels backed by his teammates.

“I think those guys are good, easy. We talk about it,” Williams said. “I think I got full support from them. I’ve gotten texts or calls or people coming up to me, with this situation that just happened, and saying, ‘We got your back, we’re with you.’ You know, things like that and, ‘Let’s go.’ That kind of mindset and attitude has been what it’s been this past couple days. And that’s kind of what it’s only been.”

Williams’ play has regressed in three straight losses to the Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. The rookie had the highest QBR (88) during back-to-back wins in Weeks 5 and 6 but ranks 32nd since the start of Chicago’s skid. Since Week 8, Williams is 32nd among QBs in completion percentage (50.5), tied for 31st in passing touchdowns (0) and last in yards per attempt (4.9) and sacks (18).

“You got to have support for him, no matter what,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “He’s going out there, busting his butt, trying to learn everything at once, and the defenses are throwing a lot at him. So, you can’t really be mad at him. You just got to still back him. Whatever he’s doing, he’s going to get better at, and we’re with him.”

Coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that Bears players had expressed frustration to him about the state of the offense in recent weeks but denied they had asked for a change at offensive coordinator. The decision to fire Waldron, Eberflus said, was his alone.

“They just want to do more,” Eberflus said. “They want to be more productive. More effective. Score points for our football team. Just do more as a group and then more individually in terms of helping the group. It was always in a winning way. A respectful way. It was always in that light. And to me it was really, really good to see that they really wanted to get better. And it just didn’t happen in a timely fashion.”

Eberflus reiterated that Williams will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers (6-3, 0-2) but was noncommittal on him remaining the starter for the remainder of the season.

“I would just say that we’ll look at everything week to week,” Eberflus said when asked if benching Williams is off the table. “You always do that, what’s best for the football team.”

“I’d probably say (he’s) too nice of a guy. I think OTAs, training camp, we kind of fell into a trap of letting things go, of not holding people accountable and obviously those things get into a really slippery slope.”

Keenan Allen, on fired Shane Waldron

What Eberflus felt was best for the Bears entering Week 11 was switching offensive coordinators from Waldron to former passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. The Bears coach cited a need for more “creativity” in the offense and believes that unit can experience “significant” change even on short notice.

“That’s what we’re looking for — significant change and efficiency,” Eberflus said. “We want an efficient, effective offense from the run game to the screen game to the play-action pass, drop-back pass, from A to Z. I know if we put our minds together and everybody works together, we’ll get that done.”

Moore said it was “shocking” to see the Bears fire Waldron despite players openly expressing their frustrations with the offense for weeks. Fellow wide receiver Keenan Allen offered an honest assessment when asked why things fell short of expectations during Waldron’s tenure.

“I’d probably say (he’s) too nice of a guy,” Allen said. “I think OTAs, training camp, we kind of fell into a trap of letting things go, of not holding people accountable and obviously those things get into a really slippery slope.”

What do players expect will be different with Brown calling the offense?

“Different personality,” Allen said. “I think he’s more of a ‘don’t take bulls—‘ type of guy. Won’t accept it either, so see how that goes.”