Armed with talented playmakers and Ben Johnson’s scheme, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams enters 2026 poised to shatter the franchise’s most stubborn passing milestone.
Caleb Williams has everything he needs to succeed in the NFL.
Going into his third season in the league, Williams has one of the top offensive play callers in Ben Johnson, a variety of skilled pass catchers and a dependable offensive line.
It's rare that the Chicago Bears have one of those three parts let alone all three, but that's the status of the team going into the 2026 season.
For today's mailbag topic, let's look at an individual milestone that is still left unchecked in Bears history.
With Burden, Odunze, Loveland, Raymond/Walker, and other speedy WRs added this off-season, is it inevitable that Caleb surpasses his 4000 passing yard goal? -- @NeilKarch
There's the milestone that no Bears quarterback in team history has accomplished -- throwing for 4,000 yards in a single season.
Williams broke the franchise single-season passing record last season with his 3,942 yards in Year 1 of Johnson's offense. So, is it inevitable that Williams surpasses 4,000 passing yards?
The Bears' starting quarterback will break that record, and there is a realistic possibility that it happens this season.
Here is the list of Williams' pass catchers:
- Rome Odunze
- Luther Burden III
- Colston Loveland
- Cole Kmet
- Kalif Raymond
- Jahdae Walker
- Zavion Thomas
- Scotty Miller
- Sam Roush
That group with Johnson's calling plays can easily help Williams become the franchise's first 4,000-yard passer. With another year in the offensive system, the unit should play with more consistency. More consistency means longer drives, more opportunities, more completions, more yards and more points.
During the 2025 NFL season, Johnson was asked about Williams potentially reaching the 4,000-yard passing mark. The Bears' coach called it "an arbitrary number" and played down the significance even though the Bears are the only team in the NFL without a 4,000-yard passer.
Here's a look at the number of quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards or more in a single season since 2016.
- 2025: 6 (Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Sam Darnold, Trevor Lawrence)
- 2024: 6 (Joe Burrow, Goff, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, Darnold, Lamar Jackson)
- 2023: 10 (Tua Tagovailoa, Goff, Prescott, Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes, Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud, Mayfield, Lawrence)
- 2022: 9 (Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins, Burrow, Goff, Allen, Smith, Lawrence)
- 2021: 10 (Brady, Herbert, Stafford, Mahomes, Derek Carr, Burrow, Prescott, Allen, Cousins, Rodgers)
- 2020: 12 (Deshaun Watson, Mahomes, Brady, Matt Ryan, Allen, Herbert, Rodgers, Cousins, Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, Carr, Stafford)
- 2019: 11 (Jameis Winston, Prescott, Goff, Rivers, Ryan, Wilson, Brady, Carr, Carson Wentz, Mahomes, Rodgers
- 2018: 12 (Ben Roethlisberger, Mahomes, Ryan, Goff, Andrew Luck, Rodgers, Brady, Rivers, Eli Manning, Cousins, Watson, Carr)
- 2017: 8 (Brady, Rivers, Stafford, Drew Brees, Roethlisberger, Ryan, Cousins, Alex Smith)
- 2016: 13 (Brees, Ryan, Cousins, Rodgers, Rivers, Stafford, Joe Flacco, Luck, Carson Palmer, Wilson, Andy Dalton, Winston, Manning)
These past two seasons have had the fewest 4,000-yard passing quarterbacks in the last decade. That still doesn't chance my belief that Williams will reach that mark, but it's something to at least recognize in today's NFL.
Johnson is a big believer in the running the football, and the run game will be a big part of the Bears' offense this upcoming season and as long as he remains the team's coach.
Williams has the talent, the coach, the playmakers and the offensive line to become a 4,000-yard passer. There are no more excuses to leave that milestone as the low-hanging fruit. The 2026 season is officially set for a historic breakthrough.
(If you have a question you want answered in the next mailbag article, leave a comment on this article or reply to my tweet.)
