LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — At the end of his rookie season, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams offered a strong defense of his highly scrutinized offensive line.
Williams called the criticism of the Bears' offensive line a "stupid connotation," noting that his protection unit fought through injuries and that he too often held onto the ball too long. The 23-year-old Williams was sacked a league-worst 68 times in 17 games in the 2024 season.
For his part, Bears general manager Ryan Poles views the pass protection issues as a collective struggle, and he knows the unit needs to be revamped.
“There wasn’t one reason,” Poles said. “It wasn’t always offensive line, it wasn’t always the quarterback, it wasn’t always the running back in protection. There’s a lot of factors in there to look into. All were involved, and that’s a place to look into as we move forward, because obviously you don’t want your quarterback hit that much. And some of those things do fall on Caleb ... in terms of getting us in a position to pick things up and also getting the ball out on time. And that’s part of being a young quarterback. You’re trying to figure out the coverages and you’re seeing a lot of different things, but you’re also trying to be right and that releases some of those sacks. So, there’s a lot of learning to be done in that situation.”
Poles will face key decisions regarding the Bears’ offensive line this offseason. Starting left guard Teven Jenkins, center Coleman Shelton and right guard Matt Pryor each have expiring contracts. Left tackle Braxton Jones underwent ankle surgery recently and will enter his fourth NFL season without his starting position set in stone. Only right tackle Darnell Wright seems to be a sure bet to be a starter in 2025.
The Bears have struggled to stabilize their offensive line under the watch of Poles, a former offensive lineman himself. Even so, Poles on Tuesday pushed back at the notion that he has prioritized skill positions over the offensive line, deferring instead to his scouting philosophies.
"You have to look at the situations in terms of when you go through the draft, do a trade deal, it's what's best available,” Poles said. “Also when you go through free agency, we are looking at a board of what's there.
“But obviously, I believe in that and I definitely think we have all of the assets that we need and from a draft, free agent, I think some things line up for us to take care of some of those deals."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on X @CEmma670.