The bond between Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams traces back to 2019, to a recruiting visit in Baton Rouge, La., where one future Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was trying to convince another to come to LSU.
Burrow wouldn’t share many details of that weekend after a joint practice between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Bears on Thursday afternoon at Halas Hall.
“We just got a little dinner,” he said with a wide grin. “Nothing too crazy.”
But Burrow did acknowledge the two still keep in touch and that he has a deeper appreciation than most for Williams’ talent and the career climb he is just beginning in Chicago. After all, Burrow is only four years removed from his NFL arrival — as the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, chosen to reenergize the Bengals franchise amid plenty of hype and great expectations.
Burrow understands the growth process Williams must go through and the grind that will intensify once the regular season begins.
“What you don’t realize at the beginning is how long the season is,” Burrow said. “You grow and you learn as time goes by with how to maintain your body and maintain your mind for those tough times. Because from Week 11 to 15, it’s really a grind.
“You only get one bye week. My last year in college, we had 12 games and two bye weeks. So the (NFL) season is a grind. But you learn from every rep. And as long as you grow and you learn and you have great coaches, then you’re all right.”
Burrow can’t speak with any expertise about how Bears coach Matt Eberflus, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and the assistants around them inside Halas Hall are equipped to nurture Williams. But Burrow is a big believer in the plan the Bears put in place to make Williams their QB1 immediately without pushing him into a watch-and-learn apprenticeship behind an established veteran starter.
It’s the same path the Bengals chose in 2020, with coach Zac Taylor lifting Burrow to the top of the depth chart immediately after he was drafted.
“Those reps are so valuable,” Burrow said. “You learn so much in that first year when you’re getting those (first-team) reps and when you come in and you’re named the starter immediately.
“I’ll never quite understand when you draft a guy that you know is going to be your starter, but then you don’t name him your starter immediately and then he misses out on all those reps with 1s that he would have had had he just come in as the starter.”
Burrow’s rookie season had its detours. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no organized team activities or minicamp practices to use for development. Training camp that summer also was abbreviated significantly.
Burrow then made 10 starts as a rookie but had his season cut short when he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in Week 11 when he was hit low while throwing deep.
Still, Burrow returned in his second season, threw for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns and propelled the Bengals all the way to the Super Bowl. The Bengals followed in 2022 with 12 wins, another AFC North title and two more playoff victories, lending credibility to the blueprint they used to get Burrow’s career launched properly.
Burrow and Taylor talked at length Thursday about the need to lean into every experience — every success and every misstep — as a learning opportunity.
“Every rep,” Taylor said, “is a good rep.”
Taylor singled out a 31-27 Bengals loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Burrow’s rookie season, a defeat that was sealed in the final minute when Burrow was blitzed and threw an interception deep in Colts territory on a pass intended for Tyler Boyd.
Coincidentally, that came against a defense coordinated and called by Eberflus.
“Joe stored that one away,” Taylor said. “It was kind of a four-deep, one-under (look), if I remember correctly. First time we’d seen that in his career. And so Joe stored that away and said if I ever get that one again I know what I’m going to get to.
“There are moments like that that are going to happen. You store them away and you learn from them.”
Burrow also emphasized the need to find emotional equilibrium daily throughout a roller-coaster NFL season.
“That’s what separates people,” he said. “It’s when you can maintain a levelheaded, even-keel aura or whatever you want to call it. There are going to be ups and downs. But can you come back the next day and go about your process the same way you did the week before? Whether you won or whether you lost. Whether you threw four picks or you had five touchdowns. You just have to have the mindset at the end of the day that you’re going to be better.”
Williams had his ups and downs during a rainy joint practice with the Bengals on Thursday. He was intercepted by linebacker Germaine Pratt on his first pass of 7-on-7s but also made several gorgeous throws, including an 11-on-11 red-zone touchdown pass to Keenan Allen.
Williams is expected to start and play a series or two Saturday in the preseason game against the Bengals at Soldier Field. Burrow and Taylor will have a good view of that experience for the rookie quarterback.
After that? The Bengals quarterback and coach will be keeping an eye on Williams’ progress from afar.
“Once you’ve been through the things that he’s been through and that I’ve been through, I think you understand it,” Burrow said. “He played in L.A. (in college) so he’s used to that big market. That goes a long way. If you can stay grounded like he can, then he’s going to get through it.”
Added Taylor: “It’ll be exciting to see how it all comes along. They’ll do it at their own pace. It’ll be fun to watch.”
