Mitch Trubisky started 2017 on the bench.
Justin Fields was on the sideline to begin the 2021 season, too.
Not only will Caleb Williams be the Bears’ starter when they begin their season Sunday against the Titans, but he’s a captain, too.
While he’s not alone — the Bears have a whopping eight captains — Williams is the first rookie quarterback ever named a season-long captain for the franchise. He’s the first rookie Bears captain at any position since the NFL codified the system in 2007, and the first on any team Matt Eberflus has ever been a part of.
That speaks to how quickly Williams earned the respect of his teammates — and how comfortable he is communicating with them — but also to the way the Bears decided to handle their rookie quarterback.
While the rest of the NFL was starting rookie quarterbacks in Week 1, the Bears didn’t embrace modernity until they took Williams with the first pick in the April draft. Trubisky and Fields, the Bears’ other first-round quarterbacks, had to sit behind veterans. Declaring Williams the starter right away allowed him to grow into the leadership role without worrying about offending a veteran quarterback in front of him — because there wasn’t one.
The result feels natural. Bears players voted for captains last week and the team announced them Monday.
“I don’t think it’s a bit of a surprise, coming in here being QB1,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson, another captain, said after a short practice.
Williams is already in rare territory. Since 1955 — six years after teams stopped wearing leather helmets — only one Bears rookie quarterback has started Week 1. Kyle Orton was pressed into action in the 2005 opener, and for most of the season, only because Rex Grossman broke his ankle in a preseason game.
“When you come to work every day like [Williams] did, and go through the things that he had to grow through, especially against the defense, and you see the work that he was putting in day-in and day-out,” receiver DJ Moore said, “you can’t do anything but respect that and want him to be a captain for you.”
General manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus have both praised Williams’ authenticity since he reported to Halas Hall. What could have been an awkward experience hasn’t been — Williams has been intentional with his teammates without coming across like he’s trying too hard.
“I think he let it just come naturally,” said Moore, who’s also a captain. “And once he got comfortable — I mean, it took him a while to get comfortable and start opening up and being who he really truly was because he did have to go through learning the offense, learning everybody, learning different things. And once he did that, everybody just started gravitating to him. And he’s a captain now.”
Williams will have to strike a balance between being a leader and riding the inevitable rollercoaster, but Eberflus said he thinks he can handle it.
“Just be yourself,” Eberflus said. “Be authentic. Let it come to ya, which he’s done. He’s worked his tail off. He’s preparing. He’s got great passion into practice and the games.”
The Bears will learn more from Williams next Monday than they did on Labor Day. They’ve spent weeks preparing for the opener but will have six days to get ready for their second game. It’s that turnaround — the mandate to self-reflect on the film and reset mentally to prepare for the next game — that separates great quarterbacks from average ones.
But first, he’s got the Titans game to play — with a captain patch on his chest.
“When you’re the No. 1 overall pick,” Moore said, “you better go out there and make something shake.”