Heading into the 2025 NFL season, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is facing a lot of questions and pressure. After a solid rookie season, he has gone through an offseason that has seen plenty of struggles under first-year head coach Ben Johnson.

Last season, nothing was set up well for Williams’ success. He was sacked 68 times throughout the course of the year and the coaching staff simply wasn’t well connected.

Johnson is hoping to come in and change all of that, but his rookie season conditions put Williams in a bad situation.

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Due to that situation the Bears placed Williams into, the franchise has received some strong criticism from NFL legend Peyton Manning.

As shared by Zak Keefer of The Athletic, Manning shared his opinion on teams who draft quarterbacks when they’re clearly not ready for them. He made it clear that Chicago was one of those teams when it drafted Williams.

“I hate it. Teams draft these guys without a plan. They all say they have one, then the kid ends up playing for three coordinators his first two seasons … It’s like a young couple thinking about bringing a baby into the world. If you’re not sure you’re ready, just don’t do it,” Manning said.

He continued on, revealing what he wishes teams would do and calling out the two teams that he felt didn’t do right by their young quarterbacks.

“I just wish a team would admit, ‘OK, we need a quarterback this year, but we’re not 100 percent sure our coach is the right guy, so we’re not gonna bring him into this.’ Of course, they always draft the quarterback. Those teams were not ready. That’s just how I feel.”

Manning makes a great point. Bringing in young quarterbacks and putting them in bad situations has caused a lot of issues and has resulted in a lot of “busts” over the years.

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Hopefully, Williams will not fall into that category. At leas the Bears made a quick change when they realized that they weren’t in a great position for Williams.

Having Johnson on the sideline is a good step in the right direction. He is one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL and has been pushing Williams to improve. With him leading the charge, there is a major sense of optimism in Chicago.

All of that being said, Williams will need to prove that he can be a long-term franchise quarterback on the field this season. The talent is there, but it has to result in success on the gridiron.

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