LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) – During a team outing to a local bowling alley Monday evening, Bears center Garrett Bradbury got a challenge from quarterback Caleb Williams. As it turned out, Bradbury didn't realize what was store for his competition with Williams.
"He's not taking no for an answer," Bradbury said. "He's not taking a loss.”
Williams was victorious with a 190 score, and he let Bradbury know about it.
The 31-year-old Bradbury has been paired with Williams well beyond the bowling lanes. After Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman abruptly retired in March, the Bears coveted the seven-year veteran Bradbury in part because of his reputation in working with young quarterbacks.
Williams, 24, leaned heavily on Dalman in 2025 in his first run operating Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s offensive system. An experienced center can handle pre-snap checks to assist a young quarterback like Williams, who was drinking through a firehose in learning Johnson's complex offense. After a learning curve, it clicked for Williams and the Bears offense later in a breakthrough 2025 season.
In this training camp, Williams is guiding his center Bradbury – along with the entire Bears offense. He's more confident and comfortable in Johnson's scheme, and that has been on display each practice.
Williams is operating without overthinking.
"Being able to mentally put myself in that position," Williams said. "Being able to mentally put myself in those positions like the game's on the line, let's go make this play, let's go put the ball exactly where it needs to be. And so, just training my mental, training my mind, training everything.
"It's being able to understand and know where the guys are going to be. It's not me thinking about my footwork. It's more of me trying to put the ball in the right spot for him and give him a runner's ball, which we always talk about. And so, it starts with offseason training. It starts with me knowing the offense better, and I think I've done a better job with that so far. I can always be better.”
Johnson hopes that progress reveals itself in the plays he's calling. Williams showcased considerable growth in 2025 after a rockier rookie campaign in 2024, but one of his struggles came with ball placement. That's an important detail to Johnson, who needs throws to receivers to be on time and in stride in order for a play to maximize its potential.
In the Bears’ mind, too many potential explosive plays were limited to shorter gains in 2025. The Bears were 10th in the NFL with 1,874 yards after the catch (5.6 yards after the catch per completion), a strong figure but not at all satisfying to Johnson.
After each practice in training camp, Williams has been working with his teammates in throwing extra routes. It's a continuation of the work they put forth this offseason.
"I love the process he has right now," Johnson said of Williams. "I mean, he's coming in early, he's staying late after practice, getting extra reps with the route runners. He's taken complete control of what we're trying to do.”
Late Saturday morning at Halas Hall, the Bears conducted a drill that was critical to Johnson's agenda. They were focused on end-of-half and end-of-game scenarios. While Williams' season was highlighted by seven comeback wins in the fourth quarter in 2025, the Bears offense also struggled too often to end halves in the fashion they wanted. Those two-minute situations are a test of a quarterback's command.
Williams delivered his best throw of training camp on the final play of that practice. As the clock ticked down toward zero, he split two defenders to find receiver Rome Odunze in the back of the end zone.
Then, Williams celebrated – but not for long.
"I definitely want to keep growing," Williams said. "And I just I want to keep getting better for the guys. I want to be faster with my process, to be able to help the O-line throughout, you know, long games and things like that, they're sitting in their stances, be able to get the communication throughout, you know whether it's on the ball or whether it's in the huddle, just be smoother and faster and everything so that I can be better for the guys.
"Ultimately, that helps us win.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
