Grady Jarrett is well respected throughout the league. He has appeared in 152 career games through his first 10 seasons in the NFL, all with the Atlanta Falcons.
So, when the Chicago Bears signed the 32-year-old defensive lineman to a three-year, $43.5 million contract this offseason, quarterback Caleb Williams was one of the first players to reach out to him.
“Very cool guy, super approachable, super welcoming when I got here. I’m excited to have him as a quarterback,” Jarrett said.
Jarrett has only been in the Windy City for a few months but has already been in awe of the former USC Trojans quarterback’s pure talent.
“Just making amazing throws, throwing on the run. I didn’t realize how fast he was. Getting out of the pocket, how ripped and in-shape he is. He’s somebody you can see is an elite athlete.”
Training camps are underway across the NFL and all eyes are on the Bears as they usher in a new era under coach Ben Johnson. The former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was brought in to bring the Bears anemic offense into the modern age and help blossom Williams into the quarterback that made him the undisputed No. 1 overall pick coming out of Southern Cal.
Jarrett, who earned a reputation as one of the top interior defensive tackles in Atlanta, understands the role that he and the defense will play into Williams’ development over these next several weeks.
“More than just encouraging words, telling someone a good job, sometimes you got to talk a little mess to him or challenge him, give him difficulty,” Jarrett said. “So that when the game comes nothing gon’ phase him. It’s love, but it’s like big brother love cause you want the best for him. We got to put a tough defense out there for him to face. We gotta talk a little talk, but also between time we gotta hang out, break bread, all that type of stuff.
“I think he’s going to be more than ready to go and that’s the preparation of everybody, all hands on deck. Everybody wants to see him do his best. The talent he got is out of this world, but I think he’d be the first to tell you it comes with putting in that hard work. That daily grind and that’s what I’ve been super impressed with so far being his teammate, just how bought in and committed he is to really try and achieve greatness.”
Williams has set some personal goals heading into his second season, become the franchise’s first 4,000 passer, complete 70 percent of his passes and above all else, win.
Chicago doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to quarterback play, but it’s also a franchise that struggled to make the playoffs over the last two decades.
The last time Chicago made the playoffs was 2020 and they haven’t won a playoff game since defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round in 2010. In fact, it’s the Bears only playoff win since reaching the Super Bowl in 2006.
Chicago will be tested immediately out the gate this season when they host division rival Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in week 1 and then travel to Detroit in week 2.
Williams senses the urgency to get things rolling as they prepare to hit the practice field for the first time on Wednesday, July 23.
“We’re not looking too far ahead, but as we know we have the Vikings first game, Monday night, 8 p.m. So, obviously you don’t look too far ahead, but you understand that you’re on a time limit and the race is here,” Williams said.
