Was it smart for the Chicago Bears to name Caleb Williams the starter so soon?

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus announced last week that Caleb Williams is the team’s starting quarterback. While very few questioned whether Williams would become the starter, making it official so early in the offseason has caught some people off-guard.

On the “Opening Drive” on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Solomon Wilcots and Ryan Leaf sounded surprised and disappointed at this decision. They said that “handing him the job” was a bad look that could rub some of the veteran players the wrong way, according to Leaf, veteran players want to see the rookie quarterback have to fight for and earn the starting job in training camp.

I understand what they’re saying. For the most part, they’re correct. But Caleb Williams is different. He was the first overall pick, and, typically, those guys don’t have to fight anyone for the starting job.

But Williams is also more than that. He’s been described by many as a generational player, the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck (who was named the Indianapolis Colts’ starter almost as fast). When quarterbacks are that good, and they know they’re that good, a quarterback competition is nothing more than a waste of time.

Getty Images

Bears made right call naming Caleb Williams the starting QB

I think the Chicago Bears were right to name Caleb Williams the starter. They cleared the deck for him to be the starting quarterback when they traded Justin Fields and did not bring in any starting-caliber veterans. The Bears have full confidence in Williams, and this is just one more way of expressing that confidence.

What are the Bears’ alternatives? Waste everyone’s time with a sham quarterback competition and pretend that Tyson Bagent has a real shot of starting over the first overall pick? Sure, Bagent is a fine quarterback who performed admirably for the Bears last year when Fields was injured. But let’s be real.

None of that would benefit anyone. In fact, it could only hurt Caleb Williams. Not only would it steal valuable starter reps from him in training camp, but it would also signal to him that maybe you don’t have full confidence in him. It would be disingenuous.

Finally, can we give Bears veterans a little more credit? They’re grown men doing a job, and they know who Williams is and how talented he is. The locker room would see right through whatever dog-and-pony show the Bears would put them through if they pretended the QB1 role was up for grabs.

We all knew that Williams would be QB1 when the season by the time the season started. You, me, the Bears players, coaches, and fans. All Eberflus did was make it officially official.