Former USC Trojans and current Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams spent much of his rookie season on the ground or running away from pass rushers. The Bears offensive line was ranked No. 24 in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Chicago will have to do a better job of protecting their franchise quarterback next season.
FanSided’s Nick Villano predicts that the Bears will sign Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith to a four-year deal.
Trey Smith To the Chicago Bears?
Trey Smith is a 6-6, 321 pound offensive lineman that has spent the first four years in the NFL blocking for quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith has overachieved in his NFL career for where he was drafted.
Kansas City knew after their loss in Super Bowl 55 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that they had to get better on the offensive line. They drafted offensive lineman Creed Humphrey in the 2nd round and Trey Smith in the 6th round.
Humphrey and Smith proved to be major additions and helped aid the Chiefs offensive line in back to back Super Bowl winning seasons in 2022 and 2023. Smith started and played in 80 games for the Chiefs in these four seasons, and made the Pro Bowl this past season.
Nick Villano projects Smith to sign a four-year deal with a team north of $100 million. The Bears, who have the 6th most cap space in the league, should be all over signing the 25-year old Smith.
Caleb Williams In Need Of Protection
In his rookie season, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked an astounding 68 times. He was sacked more than any other quarterback in the NFL. It was also the third most sacks taken by a quarterback in the history of the league. The only two quarterbacks that took more sacks in a single season were David Carr in 2002 with 76, and Randall Cunningham in 1986 with 72.
Miraculously, Williams didn’t miss a single game due to injury even after taking a beating week after week. He ended the season with 3,541 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions. Williams also had 81 carries for 489 rushing yards.
Caleb Williams had to deal with a lot of things not in his control. The Bears were in turmoil and fired coach Matt Eberflus in the middle of the season. This came just after a few weeks after the Bears also fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Bears promoted Thomas Brown to be their interim coach through the end of the season and finished with a record of 5-12. Chicago ended up hiring former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as coach this offseason.
Not even a full calendar year into his NFL tenure, Williams has already had three different head coaches.