Despite clutch playoff heroics and elite arm talent, NFL veteran Derek Carr warns that Chicago’s star playmaker has barely scratched the surface of his immense physical potential.
The Chicago Bears have one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the NFL, Caleb Williams.
He took a massive leap in one year of Ben Johnson's offense.
He was at the forefront of many of the fourth-quarter comebacks that Bears fans enjoyed last season. Williams pulled off two of those feats against the Green Bay Packers, once in Week 16 and the other in the playoffs.
When you look at Williams, there's a lot to like about his game. He has insane arm talent and can create plays with his legs if the pocket breaks down around him.
He can also scramble and pick up yards on the ground if he needs to.
On the surface, it would appear that Williams has a pretty high ceiling based on his natural abilities. However, one former NFL quarterback doesn't think that Williams is even remotely close to having a ceiling yet.
Former NFL quarterbacks Derek and David Carr both played for many seasons, but the two brothers never played in the league at the same time.
David played from 2002-2012 for the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. Derek was in the NFL from 2014-2024, spending nine years with the Oakland Raiders, who moved to Las Vegas in 2020, before joining the New Orleans Saints for the last two years of his NFL career.
On a recent episode of "Home Grown with David & Derek Carr," the brothers broke down film of Williams. Derek talked about the "scary part" of Williams. He believed Williams hasn't hit his ceiling yet.
"The scary part about Caleb Williams is that he's not even close to his ceiling," Carr said. "...So, I think that this marriage between Ben Johnson and Caleb, the future is bright. Very bright for Chicago. If I'm a Bears fan, they probably haven't been this excited in the offseason in a long time. Okay. We got a team. We're going the right direction. You lost D.J. Moore, so I'm excited to see how they handle that."
Derek is absolutely right.
With a player of Williams' talents, there's no telling how good he'll be once he reaches his full potential. The young quarterback took big strides in 2025, but he still has a lot to learn.
Even though he engineered another fourth-quarter comeback in the playoffs against the Packers, he still threw more interceptions than touchdowns as a whole in the postseason.
Williams is still progressing, but the sky is truly the limit for a player of his talents.
