With more than 30 starting quarterbacks, will Caleb Williams be the best one yet for the Chicago Bears? Williams was drafted by the Bears with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Here’s how Bears quarterbacks — rookies and a few vets — have fared in their first starts during the past four decades.
Caleb Williams
Sept. 8, 2024 vs. Tennessee Titans
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Win, 24-17
When Williams went to the Bears locker room after his first NFL win at Soldier Field, the rookie quarterback took a moment to sit down and absorb his teammates’ celebration.
The 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in the season opener felt “unbelievable,” Williams said.
And yet, he also knew where he fell short.
“Just watching all the guys celebrate understanding that I need to be better,” Williams said. “I will be better.”
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How he got the start: During multiple get-togethers with Williams during the predraft process — from the scouting combine to USC’s pro day to an April visit at Halas Hall — Bears general manager Ryan Poles came away pleased with how Williams processed his struggles and pushed through them. The Bears GM is convinced Williams has the requisite thick skin to survive in the NFL.
He was named the team’s starting quarterback in May and announced as one of eight team captains prior to Week 1.
Williams became the first quarterback picked at No. 1 in the draft to win in his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002 and the first Bears rookie QB to win in the season opener since at least 1950.
Justin Fields
Sept. 26, 2021 vs. Cleveland Browns
- Location: FirstEnergy Stadium
- Result: Loss, 26-6
How bad was rookie Justin Fields’ first start for the Bears? As the seconds wound down in the game, Fields had been sacked more times than he had completed a pass.
How he got the start: Fields was named the starter after Andy Dalton was knocked out with a left knee injury in the second quarter of the Sept. 19 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Asked directly if Dalton remains the starting quarterback if healthy, Nagy demurred.
“If Andy is healthy, is he your starter?” said Nagy, repeating the question. “That’s something that I’m not going to get into with scheme.”
When a reporter objected that the question wasn’t related to scheme but rather to personnel, Nagy didn’t budge.
“Of course it is,” he said. “That’s 100% scheme. That’s 100% scheme.”
Mitch Trubisky
Oct. 9, 2017 vs. Minnesota Vikings
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Loss, 20-17
Trubisky forced a pass to tight end Zach Miller that Vikings safety Harrison Smith intercepted at the Bears 28-yard line to suck the air out of a building that had come alive with possibility. Kai Forbath kicked a 26-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to give the Vikings a 20-17 victory over a Bears team that played just well enough to lose.
How he got the start: Bears general manager Ryan Pace initially planned for the team to patiently develop rookie Trubisky in practices. This deviation was triggered by Mike Glennon’s failure to consistently protect the ball during the Bears’ 1-3 start. He was dinged with an NFL-high eight turnovers, including blowout road losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers.
Mike Glennon
Sept. 10, 2017 vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Loss, 23-17
Glennon fared well in his first start since 2014 — putting the Bears in position to beat the defending NFC champions by completing 17 of 26 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Yet, just five yards from the end zone, Glennon was sacked in a familiar ending for the team. Before the sack, the Falcons forced Glennon into three incomplete passes on three plays.
How he got the start: In March, the Bears offered Glennon a three-year, $45 million deal with $18.5 guaranteed. The free agent spent the previous two seasons as backup to Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay and had a starting record of 5-13. Just seven weeks after Glennon arrived in Chicago, the Bears traded up to draft North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Despite this move, Glennon’s name sat at the top of the Bears’ depth chart — that changed after Week 4 when Trubisky was promoted.
Jay Cutler
Sept. 13, 2009 at Green Bay Packers
- Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis.
- Result: Loss, 21-15
The Bears not only lost the game, but also lost several key players — including Brian Urlacher — to injury, lost officiating challenges and some confidence. Cutler — with a 43.2 passer rating — looked like so many previous Bears quarterbacks. He threw four interceptions during the game — and could have been picked off twice more in the first half. It was his last interception that sealed the loss for the Bears.
How he got the start: In an April 2009 trade with the Denver Broncos, Cutler arrived in Chicago in exchange for Kyle Orton, two first-round draft picks and a fifth-round choice. Some called it the most exciting day for the franchise since Super Bowl XLI.
Kyle Orton
Sept. 11, 2005 at Washington Redskins
- Location: FedExField, Hyattsville, Md.
- Result: Loss, 9-7
Orton — the first rookie quarterback to start a Bears opener since Zeke Bratkowski in 1954 — led an offense that managed just 166 yards, three first-half first downs and scored its only touchdown on a short drive set up by a special-teams turnover on the second-half kickoff. Three straight false-start penalties killed a potential go-ahead scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, blamed on the noise of more than 90,000 fans in the NFL’s largest-capacity stadium. Orton, however, found his footing after a slow start, passing for five first downs on third-down conversion chances in the second half. It was enough poise to have his teammates talking confidently about his future.
How he got the start: With quarterback Rex Grossman coming off his second injury in as many seasons, the Bears chose Purdue’s Kyle Orton as a potential backup with their fourth-round pick in the 2005 NFL draft. It was the third consecutive year the team drafted a quarterback. Orton’s draft status dropped following an injury-plagued senior season — slowed by an abdominal strain and two hip injuries. In a shuffling of the depth chart, Orton was named quarterback for the season opener in August 2005.
Rex Grossman
Dec. 14, 2003 vs. Minnesota Vikings
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Win, 13-10
Grossman completed only 43% of his passes and had a passer-efficiency rating of only 60 against the Vikings — both numbers ranked him last among all starting NFL quarterbacks during the 2003 season. But his zero won the game: he made no turnovers, no rookie mistakes.
How he got the start: Bears coach Dick Jauron named rookie Grossman, an All-American at Florida, the team’s starter for Week 15 of the 2003 regular season — his 23rd quarterback change in his five years as head coach.
Cade McNown
Oct. 17, 1999 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Loss, 20-16
The Bears’ defense allowed the Eagles 20 first-half points and the offense never recovered in a defeat that marked Philadelphia’s first victory ever in Chicago. McNown was intercepted on two consecutive second-quarter possessions.
How he got the start: The Bears traded down in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft and settled for McNown, the fifth quarterback in the draft. He got his first start in week six of the 1999 season when Shane Matthews — who led the 3-2 Bears to their best start in four years — sustained a pulled hamstring.
Erik Kramer
Sept. 4, 1994 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Win, 21-9
Kramer started the 1994 regular season the same way he started his first preseason game — by directing a long touchdown drive. And despite being sacked twice, Kramer didn’t throw an interception. At the end of the weekend, he ranked second in the NFL with a 124.1 quarterback rating. Yet, Tampa Bay outgained the Bears in yards — 304 to 270.
How he got the start: The 29-year-old Kramer — who was an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina State who played in the Canadian Football League on his way to the NFL — was signed by the Bears in February 1994 following three seasons with the Detroit Lions, whom he led to two NFC Central Division titles.
Jim Harbaugh
Dec. 5, 1988 at Los Angeles Rams
- Location: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, Calif.
- Result: Loss, 23-3
For the first time during the 1988 season, the Bears failed to score a touchdown in a game. Kevin Butler’s 39-yard field goal in the first half would be the Bears’ only points scored during this “Monday Night Football” game. The Bears’ defense effected two third-quarter turnovers, but the Bears’ offense couldn’t find a first down.
How he got the start: Concerned about quarterback Jim McMahon’s durability, the Bears spent a first-round pick on Harbaugh in 1987 — only 15 months after winning the Super Bowl. Yet, they left Harbaugh on the bench behind Mike Tomczak and Doug Flutie. He didn’t receive his first start until Week 14 of the 1988 season — when both McMahon and backup Tomczak were injured.
Mike Tomczak
Sept. 14, 1986 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Win, 13-10 (OT)
Without running back Walter Payton — who reached 15,000 yards rushing and his 100th rushing touchdown during the game — the Bears would have lost the game. They barely did win it with Payton — needing overtime, a fumble recovery and kicker Kevin Butler making two out of six field goals.
How he got the start: Tomczak, the Calumet City-native who was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 1985, finally received his chance to start when Jim McMahon injured his shoulder during a game against the Cleveland Browns in the first week of the 1986 season.
Jim McMahon
Nov. 21, 1982 vs. Detroit Lions
- Location: Soldier Field
- Result: Win, 20-17
An 18-yard field goal by Bears kicker John Roveto gave McMahon — despite throwing three interceptions in the game — his first win as the Bears’ starter. It was also Mike Ditka’s first win as head coach of the Bears.
How he got the start: Bears coach Mike Ditka named rookie McMahon his starter on Sept. 19, 1982 — following the team’s 0-2 start — one day before the league went on strike. It would be two months until McMahon would see his first start.
Sources: Chicago Tribune archives and Pro Football Reference
