It may not have been the rookie season Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams dreamed of, but it’s not as though the former first-overall pick is somehow a lost cause.
Williams was under siege all season for the 5-12 Bears, and he also resorted to many of his backyard football tendencies. He took a league-worst 68 sacks, 16 more than any other quarterback, while maintaining a mediocre 46.7 QBR.
Now that the Bears have a well-respected play-caller in Ben Johnson as their new head coach, things are certainly looking up for Williams. Now, it’s time for the Bears’ front office to construct a better offense around him.
Williams had very solid receivers to throw to in year one, and with Keenan Allen headed to free agency, Chicago may want to keep a strong trio intact with D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. If that’s the case, they may have a bounce-back candidate waiting in free agency.
On Thursday, The Sporting News’ own Vinnie Iyer predicted that the Bears would sign Amari Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowler who split this past season between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns.
“The Bears can move on from Keenan Allen and replace him with the younger Cooper to better complement D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze with route versatility,” Iyer wrote.
Cooper, 30, had a remarkably consistent career leading up to 2024. He has seven seasons with at least 1,000 yards in 10 years in the league. However, coming off a career-best 1,250 yards on the 2023 Browns, he struggled to the tune of 547 yards in 14 games this season.
The Bears wouldn’t necessarily be asking Cooper to be a number-one wideout, but if he can get his success rate back up from 42.4 percent, his worst personal mark since 2017, he’d certainly be a worthwhile investment on what’s likely to be a one or two-year contract.