Caleb Williams (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Bears have reportedly signed one of Caleb Williams’ closest friends to their roster following the quarterback’s arrival in Chicago.

The Bears drafted Williams as the first-overall pick in 2024 and will hope to finally bring a franchise quarterback to the city. It appears they’re going all out to make him as comfortable as possible.

One of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Keenan Allen, joined the Bears ahead of the draft. The Bears also took Rome Odunze at No. 9 overall in April.

Williams will now have someone familiar joining him in the offense as, per reports, the Bears have signed a pair of wide receivers in veteran Freddie Swain and John Jackson, who played at USC and Nevada.

Jackson is understood to be a close friend of Williams and was among six players signed by the team after their rookie minicamp tryouts over the weekend, with the Bears also picking cornerback Leon Jones, defensive tackle Dashaun Mallory, linebacker Paul Moala, and tight end Tommy Sweeney up.

The Bears Have Named Caleb Williams As Their Starting Quarterback

The Bears have named Caleb Williams as their starter for next season. Not that anything else was expected, but head coach Matt Eberflus made it official on Friday.

“No conversation,” he said, per ESPN. “He’s the starter.”

“Right now I feel pretty good,” the quarterback said before beginning minicamp. “Obviously we’ll go out here today, and we’re going to have a few mess-ups, probably, and things like that, working to do, eliminate those as fast as possible. 

“But you need those things to grow and progress throughout the time and years and things like that. So excited, but I feel pretty good right now.”

Williams will now look to put the Bears’ fortunes on his back as he heads into his first season as a pro. He will likely be the most scrutinized player in the league in 2024, and there’s a certain amount of pressure that comes with it, so it should be a good show, however it goes.