Ex-Bear Forecasts Explosive Year: Caleb Williams To Hit 4,500+ Yards in 2025!

Few can know the task ahead for Caleb Williams better than someone who has been in his shoes, especially one who has had success.

Where do you find that rare creature who was a Chicago Bears quarterback and succeeded, other than Jim McMahon? And Super Bowl XX was 40 years ago now, when the game was played quite a bit differently.

Kyle Odegard of the gambling site Cardplayer.com talked to one, with Williams' future a major point of discussion. The interview was with, of course, the other Bears Super Bowl quarterback, Rex Grossman.

Although maligned much of his time in Chicago, Grossman did enough to get the Bears to Super Bowl XLI. They led 14-6 before Peyton Manning took control of the game.

Grossman discussed the curse the Bears have had as the only team without a 4,000-yard passer and makes a prediction on whether he thinks Williams can achieve this.

Their record is 3,838 by Erik Kramer in 1995.

Grossman, himself, never got closer to 4,000 yards than the 3,193 yards he threw for in 2006, when the Bears lost 29-17 to the Colts in the Super Bowl, but he likes Williams' chances to do it.

"It's a little bit of bad quarterback play, a little bit of organizational identity," Grossman told Odegard about the 4,000-yard curse. "In 2025, they’re going to start throwing the ball. It’s just the way the game's developed.

"I know during our Super Bowl run, we were ahead in a lot of games and didn't throw the ball a lot. That really wasn't our identity. We were more play-action pass, run the ball and quick passes. I did have some big games but the priority of that season wasn’t to put up stats. Stats are great if you have the personnel and the play package to throw the ball a lot."

And the Grossman prediction: "I think they will have a balanced offense and he'll be around 4,200 or 4,300 yards this year.”

Grossman sees the Ben Johnson offense as a major reason the second year will result in a big surge forward by Williams. He's not worried about how Johnson always had a pocket passer in Jared Goff before, but Williams seems more suited to succeed out of structure.

“Well, a lot of people can’t (succeed out of structure), so he’s got something a lot of people can't do," Grossman said. "I sure as hell couldn’t do it. I was pretty much stuck in the pocket and I had to.

"He’s kind of got to force himself to resist the urge of rolling out when he doesn’t need to, or taking unnecessary sacks. If you keep to schedule, meaning you keep your third downs manageable, it makes it a lot easier. It opens up the playbook, it allows you to go for it on fourth-and-3 maybe. Being third-and-long is pretty tough in the NFL."

Grossman also addressed the coming book about quarterbacks by Seth Wickersham in which Williams and his father explored the idea of avoiding Chicago because of the past history of failed quarterbacks. He's not concerned about fans turning on Williams as a result of the book, even if he struggles at times

“I’m not worried about the fans," Williams told Odegard. "They’re going to react to what they see on the field. Anything can happen before the draft. You’re going to be the first pick in the draft, you’re seeing what you can dictate, and you’re trying to put yourself in the best position with as much control as you possibly can."

Grossman, who played six seasons in Chicago, retired after 2011 and two seasons in Washington. He comments in the interview on what Williams can do in the attack to achieve success, on Colston Loveland and, as a former Washington Commanders QB, offers some insight into the play of Jayden Daniels.

THE REX GROSSMAN INTERVIEW