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Bears' franchise legend Brian Urlacher recently offered some high praise of Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2025, and while following that up is going to be easier said than done this upcoming season, there are a lot of reasons for optimism surrounding this team. Of course, the biggest reason of the bunch is the play of star quarterback Caleb Williams.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams solidified himself as the Bears’ quarterback of the future with his strong play under center last season. And while he still has quite a bit of room to grow for Chicago, one of the team’s legends, linebacker Brian Urlacher, is convinced that Williams could become the Bears’ next great player.

Brian Urlacher Dishes on Caleb Williams

It’s tough to remember now, but Williams wasn’t exactly entering his sophomore season on a high note. Thanks in large part to some horrific coaching from Matt Eberflus, Williams’ rookie season was largely a waste. He showed off his potential on several occasions, but Chicago’s offense simply was not consistent enough.

Everything changed in 2025 with the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson. Williams took a major step forward under center (330/568, 3,942 YDS, 27 TD, 7 INT, 77 CAR, 388 YDS, 3 TD). The Bears ended up going on a run all the way to the divisional round of the playoffs, where they lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams.

While many folks are convinced Williams is the guy who can lead the Bears to the promised land, some think that the team’s 2025 campaign was a fluke. Urlacher is not a part of the latter crowd, as he believes that Williams can follow in his footsteps and spend his entire career playing for Chicago.

“He’s very unique in his skill set, he’s fun as hell to watch,” Urlacher said in an interview with RotoGrinders. “I’m glad we finally hit on a quarterback, honestly. When I was there for 13 years, we had 22 different starting quarterbacks. They’ve been trying to get one in the first round the last couple of years, so it’s nice to see they finally hit on one. I like what he says in the media, he’s the guy there the next 15-to-17 years out.”

Caleb Williams, Bears Have High Hopes for 2026 Campaign

GettyCaleb Williams leaves the field after the Chicago Bears dominated the Cleveland Browns 31-3 in Week 15 of the 2025 NFL Season.

Again, there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to Williams’ play on the field, but he has proven early in his career that he is capable of willing the Bears to wins. That’s an encouraging trait for him to be showing at this point in time, and the more comfortable he gets on the field, the better off Chicago will be.

He may not spend his entire career with the Bears as Urlacher did, but if he can lead this team to a championship, that will go a long way towards cementing his legacy with the team. So while it is still very early in his career, Urlacher feels he’s already seen enough to believe that Williams is the guy who can take Chicago to the promised land.