Bears' big hole in Caleb Williams' support system already rearing its head in training camp

One year ago, during the 2023 offseason, Bears general manager Ryan Poles made it clear that he and head coach Matt Eberflus never viewed this job as an overnight rebuild.

"We can’t fix everything at a high level in one swoop,” Poles said after the 2023 NFL Draft that saw him add foundational pieces in right tackle Darnell Wright and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.

That line of thinking has stayed consistent through this past offseason when the Bears added franchise-changing talents in rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen, and rookie wideout Rome Odunze.

Add in the addition of running back D'Andre Swift, tight end Gerald Everett, and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and Poles assembled the best supporting cast a No. 1 overall pick has had in modern NFL history.

But, as Poles noted in April of 2023, "you can't fix everything" at once.

So, while the Bears surrounded Williams with elite skill talent, a respected play-caller, and an ascending defense, they could not address the offensive line as they probably would have liked.

Poles upgraded at center by trading for Ryan Bates and signing Coleman Shelton. He also added versatile depth in affordable veteran Matt Pryor. The Bears could have drafted a left tackle at No. 9, but passing on Odunze once he slipped wasn't an option.

The Bears' best option was to get better play and health from the returning four starters and hope that the Bates/Shelton combo could bring stability to the center spot.

But the unreliability of the starting five in front of Williams always made it the unit that could derail the Bears' efforts for a turbulence-free rookie season for the No. 1 overall pick.

The Bears stuck with Braxton Jones at left tackle, hoping he can elevate his game and become a top-half of the league blindside protector. Left guard Teven Jenkins is near-elite when playing, but his spotty injury history is reason for concern both in 2024 and a potential long-term future in Chicago. Right guard Nate Davis has been unreliable since arriving, both in play and health. Wright is the most talented member of the group, but he is still only entering his second NFL season and has a lot of growing to do.

Sprinkle in a training camp center competition, and the Bears' offensive line was always going to be a highly unstable compound in the Bears' rookie year plan for Williams.

That's already playing out just 12 days into training camp.

Jones was limited to open camp but has since ramped up to be a full participant. That's really the only good news for the Bears' presumed starting five.

Davis got dinged up during the first padded practice and is just starting to work his way back. He returned for the first time Sunday and did individual drills before leaving practice.

"Availability is everything, right, in this league," Eberflus said when asked about Davis' reliability issues. "So you’ve got to be available to practice and you’ve go to be able to go through hard in terms of doing hard better during training camp and that’s all part of preparing the first part of the season, being able to do that. To callous yourself, that’s your individual responsibility to the football team and when you’re not out there, guess what? That doesn’t happen. Availability is important at every position and sometimes guys get injured and that’s the way it goes and there’s some things you can do. But they have to get back as fast as possible because, to me, there’s a lot of competition on this roster.”

Meanwhile, Wright has missed the last few practices after coming up hobbled during the end of Tuesday's padded session. Jenkins exited Sunday's practice before warm-ups. The left guard went right into the training center and did not reemerge.

That leaves the Bears down three starters with just three practices remaining before Saturday's preseason game in Buffalo against the Bills. Saturday's game should be Williams' preseason debut, but Eberflus has been clear that they won't put the No. 1 pick out there if the supporting cast isn't right.

"I just think that we’re going to have a plan in place," Eberflus said at the start of camp when asked about the preseason snaps for Williams. "The alignments in front of him is important. That will definitely dictate what’s going on. But we have a plan in place of what we’re going to do."

The first-string offensive line has struggled in camp even when healthy. In the first two padded practices, the Bears had 10 false starts and two delay-of-game penalties. Even when the operation was sound, the Bears' offensive line was soundly beaten by the Bears' starting defensive line.

Williams has shown an ability to rise above poor O-line play in practice. This included a late flash of brilliance during a practice that saw him face constant pressure.

But with three starters missing in Sunday's padded practice, Williams and the offense spun their wheels all day against a defense without Montez Sweat, Andrew Billings, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, and Stevenson.

The Bears started practice with Jerome Carvin at left guard in place of Jenkins and Bill Murray at right guard for Davis. Matt Pryor manned right tackle for Wright.

That unit didn't get it done. There were two false starts and several pressures by defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and defensive ends DeMarcus Walker and Austin Booker.

The Bears changed up the line for the 2-minute period, inserting Shelton at center and shifting Bates to right guard for Murray.

The results weren't much better.

Williams was sacked on the first play and fumbled the snap on the second before the Bears ran a draw and punted to end the drill.

Eberflus had them rerun it, but things didn't improve.

Williams hit DJ Moore for a first down on the first play, but the drive stalled. Williams was sacked by Dexter on first down and forced to throw two incompletions while under pressure to end the drill.

The most important caveat is that it's Aug. 5. The Bears have 34 days until their Week 1 date with the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field. They could get one or all of their missing starters back on Tuesday when practice resumes. Eberflus is rightfully cautious with soft-tissue knicks during camp.

However, the murky availability and performance of the Bears' first-team offensive line are cause for concern.

The Bears have a meticulous development plan for Williams to maximize his potential and growth in Year 1. They traded for Allen, drafted Oduzne, and signed Swift and Everett to give him a cadre of weapons among the best in the NFL.

But an unsteady offensive line can wreck even the best-laid plans. Williams is a rare talent who can wipe away poor play and mistakes around him, but what we've seen so far from the Bears' offensive line -- both in quality of play and continuity -- will be hard for anyone to overcome.

The Bears' offensive line still has time to get healthy, gel, and elevate its game in front of Williams.

But if things don't improve soon, more than the Bears' preseason plan for Williams could be at stake.

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