The Bears became on trend this offseason, though they were fashionably late.
The most remarkable part of the Bears naming rookie Caleb Williams their starting quarterback in May is that it had been widely presumed they would do so. They drafted the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner first overall in April, one month after trading Justin Fields and not bothering to replace him with a veteran backup.
The Bears had caught up with the rest of the league — finally.
Three years ago, Fields began the season as a backup to journeyman Andy Dalton. Four years before that, fellow first-round pick Mitch Trubisky sat behind journeyman Mike Glennon. Each became the starter early in his rookie season — Fields in Week 3 because of an injury to Dalton, Trubisky in Week 5 because of Glennon’s incompetence — but missed out on the valuable snaps Williams received this preseason.
Credit the Bears for embracing modernity — finally.
Since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970, 38 rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round have started their team’s first game of the season. None of them played for the Bears — until now.
Not all rookies deserve to start right away. The Bears think Williams does.
‘‘I think it’s a great opportunity; it’s a great challenge,’’ said Bears passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown, who was the Panthers’ offensive coordinator when rookie Bryce Young started last season. ‘‘I think every scenario’s different. …
‘‘We talk about how we build things around Caleb, around the quarterbacks being able to understand how to facilitate, to try to play the point-guard role. At some point, he can play Superman when the time comes.”
If he does, the Bears will have what everyone in the league wants: a star quarterback who starts right away.
It didn’t used to be that way. In the 1980s, only four rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round started more than half their team’s games. Three — the Cowboys’ Troy Aikman, the Browns’ Bernie Kosar and the Broncos’ John Elway — were No. 1 overall picks.
The 1990s produced only eight first-round rookie quarterbacks who could say the same, most famously the Colts’ Peyton Manning and the Chargers’ Ryan Leaf in 1998. The number increased to 12 in the 2000s, then ballooned to 21 in 2010-19.
Ten rookie quarterbacks picked in the first round have started more than half their team’s games since 2020. That’s on pace for 25 this decade, but it figures to be even more. The game is set up that way.
There are three reasons for the rise of playing time by rookie quarterbacks:
College and NFL aren’t as different as they used to be
Pass-happy spread schemes borrowed from college have crept into the NFL in the last decade — most blatantly when Kliff Kingsbury brought his ‘‘Air Raid’’ system to the Cardinals in 2019 — with mixed results.
That made it quicker for college passers to adapt.
‘‘That philosophy started in college and moved to the NFL,’’ said Dave Wannstedt, the Bears’ head coach in 1993-98. ‘‘You started seeing quarterbacks very comfortable in the shotgun, lining up at the line of scrimmage, getting the play from the sideline and running an offense. I think that transition helped a lot of these young quarterbacks play faster.’’
Playing a rookie quarterback in the NFL mimics the ‘‘I want it now’’ culture of college football. Name, image and likeness payments mean players who don’t play right away often transfer. You play the ones you want to keep right away.
The league and its owners encourage it
‘‘Most of the rule changes that have happened help the offense and keep the offense being exciting,’’ Wannstedt said. ‘‘The owners would love to see the offense score 35 points a game. It’s entertainment to the majority of them. …
‘‘The old days of Jim McMahon being picked up and thrown to the ground by [the Packers’ Charles] Martin [in 1986]? You couldn’t even explain that to these young quarterbacks now. It seems so far removed.’’
Jim Miller, the Bears’ quarterback in 1998-2002, sees owners as part of the problem. Drafting a quarterback is good for business; sitting them isn’t.
Owners now have at least one proof-of-concept example, too: The Texans’ C.J. Stroud led the NFL with 273.9 passing yards per game as a rookie last season, finishing with 23 touchdown passes, five interceptions and a passer rating of 100.8.
In a business filled with failure — four of the 10 first-round rookie quarterbacks to start more than half their team’s games this decade since have been traded — Stroud had the best rookie season by a QB in NFL history.
‘‘All these owners see what happened down in Houston last year,’’ Miller said. ‘‘C.J. Stroud gets drafted and is the anomaly; nobody’s ever seen anything like that. Here’s what these owners say: ‘Why is it the Houston Texans were able to do it and you weren’t? You’re my GM. How come you can’t do it? Their GM can do it. Do I need to hire their GM?’
‘‘That’s what it comes down to. It’s more ownership-driven than anything.’’
Follow the money
Quarterback contracts are getting more expensive by the day. The eight deals with the highest annual value all have been signed since 2023. The same goes for eight of the top 10 contracts in terms of guaranteed dollars.
Patrick Mahomes’ contract can be worth as much as $450 million. Since April 2023, four quarterbacks have been able to claim second place, only to fall down the money list when the next deal is signed.
To make such an investment, teams must be sure they want to build around their quarterback. They can sign them to extensions as quickly as after their third NFL season. The best way to find out is to play them right away.
‘‘By the third year,’’ Wannstedt said, ‘‘the club is ready to say, ‘He can do it,’ or, ‘He can’t do it.’ ’’
There are exceptions. The Packers gave 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love only one start in three seasons — when Aaron Rodgers was on the COVID-19 list — before making him their starter in 2023. Before last season, team and quarterback hedged their bets by agreeing to a one-year, $13.5 million extension that could be worth up to $22.5 million. Love starred last season and earned a four-year, $220 million extension in July.
That’s a major investment for a quarterback with 18 career starts and a 9-9 record. But that’s the price, and it’s only going up.
‘‘All these teams are betting that their guy is going to be the next Tom Brady,’’ Wannstedt said. ‘‘If you want to buy a house near the Bears’ facility in Lake Forest, it’s going to be a million-dollar home, minimum. If you say the homes aren’t worth a million, they might be in Lake Forest.
‘‘They are what the market says they are.’’
Defensive tackle Byron Cowart was also added to the roster.
Thanks to Poles, the Bears have reached the moment their long-suffering fans have been waiting for.