There is no love lost between Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Packers fans. But Williams said he has a healthy respect for Ben Johnson. Also, Williams got advice from C.J. Stroud that he needs to follow.
Stroud, the Houston Texans QB, said Williams will have to evolve in 2025, according to profootballnetwork.com.
“I don’t know if Caleb likes my advice,” Stroud joked. “Teams prepare more. They know what you are good at. They try to just cut that off. It’s like playing basketball. If you find out a guy can’t go left, they’re going to force you left.
“So, whatever your weaknesses are, whatever you’ve put on tape and film, that’s what defensive coordinators are watching every single day. And they’re just trying to find twists and schemes.”
The second year of an NFL quarterback can be a troublesome experience. Stroud went from 23 touchdowns and five picks to 20 scoring tosses and 12 interceptions. That’s a marked difference. He also threw for over 300 fewer yards. The good news? His records of 9-6 and 10-7 were almost identical.
Stroud said Williams needs to be able to avoid sacks for the Bears. He suffered a league-leading 68 of them in 2024.
Article Continues Below“The main thing is they want you to extend plays every time,” Stroud said. “If you learn how to just sit in the pocket. And when it’s not down like we’re playing in the shell league. It’s cover four, cover two, cover six, cover five, all these different two-high coverages. If it’s not there, bro, just get it out of your hand.
“I think I told you on the field, and the less hits you take, the better. It’s a long, long season. I know you went through that ’cause it’s 17-18 long weeks, and then you add playoffs on there, it gets long. So, the more you can get down, get rid of the ball, check it down, and just be smart. I think you’re going to do great, like you have always done.”
Williams said he will lean on the Bears' staff to help him through this season, according to a post on X by Ryan Garcia via nfl.com.
“Ben Johnson is great, and it's not just Ben Johnson,” Williams said on Friday, via Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media. “We have a young staff slash old staff. And we have a bunch of experience, bunch of new energy provided by the coaches and players. It's been awesome. Ben Johnson … uses some choice words every day toward me. He's tough, and I love him. He's awesome. It's great being around him.
“We hang out in his office, and we just have lunch sometimes, things like that. We're building this bond and relationship to be able to last a while.”
