When it comes to quarterbacks running, coaches — particularly first-time coaches — have to strike a balance between aggression and caution.
Head coach Ben Johnson was detailing what he liked the best about the Bears’ nascent ground game Tuesday and eventually veered away from running backs.
“The exciting thing for me is we got some quarterbacks that are pretty athletic players as well … ” Johnson said. “Maybe they can do some damage on the ground also.”
Caleb Williams could — that is, if Johnson really has the stomach for it.
He has the ability — only six quarterbacks ran for more yards than Williams’ 489 last season. Among passers with 50 or more carries across the league, only three averaged more than his 6 yards per rush.
Williams quietly posted one of the best rushing seasons ever for a Bears quarterback — even if some of those yards were gained by him running for his life. In the Super Bowl era, only two Bears passers — Justin Fields in 2022 and 2023 and Bobby Douglass in 1972 and 1973 — had more rushing yards than Williams did last year.
That makes Williams’ speed unlike any quarterback Johnson has coached. Jared Goff, Johnson’s quarterback with the Lions, had only 56 rushing yards last season, which ranked 39th among quarterbacks in a league that starts 32 of them. That was typical of Goff’s tenure playing for Johnson — in three full seasons with Johnson as offensive coordinator, Goff ran for 150 yards. Over that same span, 56 quarterbacks ran for more.
Johnson, then, should be excited to introduce a new facet to his rushing attack — a quarterback that can take off and run.
