DETROIT — If Matt Eberflus were the reason the Chicago Bears felt Caleb Williams was on the upswing as he enters the stretch run of his rookie season, the embattled head coach would be in a much different position.
Instead, the Bears have to consider Eberflus’ shortcomings — the final 32 seconds of the Bears’ 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday at Ford Field were bungled beyond comprehension — are at the core of the team’s critical breakdowns in games that are so bizarre, you’d swear they’re aberrations. The abnormal and unexpected, the unthinkable and difficult to explain and even harder to defend have become the norm.
Following the loss, the Bears will have to consider a franchise first: Making Eberflus the first head coach to be fired in-season with the Bears (4-8) mired in a six-game losing streak, the last three to NFC North rivals by a combined total of seven points. But it’s not that simple, and that leads off this week’s 10 thoughts.
1. Matt Eberflus’ tenure as Bears coach is in serious trouble. At this point, the conversation is a matter of whether or not he closes out the season.
The timing of the latest late-game debacle is such that if the Bears want to make a move, the embarrassment on Thanksgiving creates a little extra time over the weekend.
It’s difficult to say which way this will go, because saying Eberflus needs to be fired is simple. The Bears are better than their record and while they’ve made plenty of mistakes with blame to go around, they’ve been right in there in a 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings and then this heartbreaker after a first half where it looked like the Lions might win by 40.
The hard part is determining what to do next, and that’s what general manager Ryan Poles and those above him at Halas Hall will have to figure out if they go this route.
Promoting passing game coordinator-turned-offensive coordinator Thomas Brown to head coach isn’t going to work. He replaced Shane Waldron as the play caller before the Packers game because the offense was broken — badly — and the Bears didn’t want things to spiral further for Williams. If this season is about developing the No. 1 quarterback — and that’s certainly the primary goal with the playoffs and the division all but shot — Brown has to keep his focus on Williams, who in the last three games is 75 of 117 (64.1%) for 827 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 99.2 passer rating.
Firing Eberflus requires the Bears to make two moves. They would need an interim head coach and a new defensive play caller — and I don’t know how they pull that off. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower has had his hands full with faulty protection for the field goal team and it doesn’t seem like he needs more on his plate right now. Maybe the Bears could make defensive coordinator Eric Washington the interim head coach and slide play-calling responsibilities to linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi. Washington could potentially wear two hats; cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke could figure into things.
There just isn’t a clear move to make with frustration mounting. Eberflus is 14-32 in two-plus seasons but focusing on his overall record misses the mark. The Bears were doomed in 2022, his first season. Even more damning have been the errors he’s made in assembling a staff — the Waldron hire baffles as much as the Terry Shea era — and in-game management.
No team of spin doctors will be able to help Eberflus talk his way through Thursday’s ending. With second-and-20 from the Lions’ 35-yard line, Caleb Williams was dropped for a 6-yard loss by Za’Darius Smith. That play ended with 32 seconds remaining and the Bears owning one timeout.
They snapped the final play — an errant deep shot for Rome Odunze — with six seconds remaining. It was the final play of the game and Eberflus left the field with the timeout in his back pocket.
“It’s a situation where you have to get the play in, right,” Eberflus said. “You snap the ball and get it off and then call timeout. That was the whole operation. We were all on the same page there. We just have to do it a little bit better.”
After losing the previous two weeks on the final play, the Bears missed a chance to go to overtime against the Lions (11-1) or even win. But they were set back by a sack, an offensive pass interference call and an illegal hands to the face penalty.
I don’t know how Eberflus explains to his bosses how the ending was flubbed or how he makes sense of it for the players. To be fair, the players have got some blame here too. They can get on the ball faster and be better organized in the heat of the moment. They can execute at a higher level. But a team that so consistently folds in crunch time is a team that isn’t prepared. Know what this ending looked like? It looked like the way the Lions, once the punchline of jokes in the NFC North, used to close out close games by finding tantalizingly more ridiculous ways to lose.
“It was tough,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “I feel like we did enough as players to win the game.”
They at least did enough to have a shot at a long field goal to play into overtime again. It’s going to be difficult for the messaging to continue to resonate with the players.
“He just said we gotta stick together there,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “We’ll kind of evaluate and I am sure stuff like the end of the game will be addressed when we get back in the building.”
The “stick together” line is one we’ve been hearing for a long stretch in the losing streak.
“You only want to hear it so much,” Kmet said. “Coach is going to say what he’s going to say. At the end of the day, we all realize we want the results. We just haven’t had the results. That falls upon everybody. It definitely hurts. As much as I love the guys in the locker room and sticking together, we want to win games. We’re just not doing that right now.”
The Bears had grander goals for this season and those only grew when the team got off to a 4-2 start, one that provided an artificial sense of who they were based on who they had played. Those loftier ambitions have been shot. They’re a play here and a play there from having a much different record. An easy case could be made for 7-5 at this juncture because every close game doesn’t go your way — unless you’re playing the Bears of late.
And that falls on coaching and critical errors when the team hasn’t been up to the moment at the end of the game. The goal now has to be the continued development of Williams and other young talent on the roster. Poles and others are going to have to ask a pointed question: Are the Bears on the verge of having things turn toxic because of the losing? I’m not sure that’s the case. They’ve got a room full of pissed-off players, but Williams has remained even and with five games remaining, there’s space for growth.
If the organization believes Eberflus is an impediment to that growth in the interim, Black Friday could take on a different meaning at Halas Hall. Firing a coach in-season provides no legitimate edge over clubs that wait until Black Monday to do housecleaning. Replacing Eberflus will require a clear plan that puts Williams and the rest of the team in a better position and that’s where it gets tricky.
There’s no simple move even if one needs to be made. Look at the bright side, at least Williams has had the Bears right there against rivals in what is the best division in the league this season. It could be worse and in many recent seasons, it’s been more hopeless in late November.
2. It’s one thing to have faulty protection on a game-winning field goal. It’s another to make a huge fourth-quarter push only to fall short in overtime. It’s worse yet when the team leaves knowing there should have been at least one more play.
Maybe an earlier third-down play doesn’t work and Caleb Williams ended up heaving an unsuccessful Hail Mary. Maybe the Bears get decent yardage, tie the game on a field goal and lose in overtime. Maybe anything happens other than frittering away time on the clock and ending the game with an unused timeout.
“These are once-in-a-blue moon type things,” wide receiver DJ Moore said of the last three games in the six-game losing streak. “You can’t even line up the planets and get all this right.”
Blue moons occur, on average, once every 33 months and you know it’s trying times for the locker room when players are resorting to solar system metaphors in an effort to explain what just happened.
I don’t know that we’re going to find a satisfactory explanation other than things happened fast — way too fast — and the Bears on the sideline and on the field were paralyzed. What’s dismaying is this was yet another opportunity for the Bears to close out a game — in this instance, Williams could have ended things with a 99-yard touchdown drive — and be celebrating a massive performance by the rookie. Instead, we’re talking about astronomy.
Things looked bleak when tight end Cole Kmet was called for offensive pass interference on fourth-and-4 from the Lions’ 44-yard on a rub play that sprung Moore for a 22-yard gain. It was the same play or concept that created two big gains earlier in the game and Kmet was called for interfering with cornerback Terrion Arnold.
“Just trying to get around the guy and the backer that had me in man, kind of shielded and (I) got leveled there pretty good,” Kmet said. “That’s where I can be better.”
Miraculously, the Bears converted the resulting fourth-and-14 when Williams threw up a prayer and the Bears got what players admitted was a “bail out” call against former Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor, who officials said impeded Moore. Smart move by Williams to chuck it up. Super iffy call.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Vildor said. “I was just right there trailing him. Once the ball came out, I went to the ball, you know what I mean? I was confused. The ref said he thought I grabbed him when I was going to the ball.
“You’re gonna call that on fourth-and-14? Come on, man. I have seen way worse things (go uncalled).”
That set the Bears up at the Detroit 25-yard line with 46 seconds remaining. They were in range for a game-tying field goal. A first-down throw for Moore was incomplete and then the Bears used their second timeout to get organized.
Williams connected with Keenan Allen on the boundary for a 12-yard gain but that was wiped out by an illegal hands to the face penalty call against Teven Jenkins. That backed the offense up to the Lions’ 35-yard line, still in Cairo Santos’ range but moving close to the kick line.
Williams was sacked on the next play and that’s when things went haywire. First, understand this was a called run play. Za’Darius Smith was credited with a sack but it was a quarterback draw. Center Coleman Shelton took off downfield to block.
Right tackle Larry Borom needed to run Smith upfield beyond the pocket and it looked like he just spaced.
“It’s a draw,” Borom said. “I need to be better on that play. I need to get hands on him.”
“I was going to run right off the hip of Larry or the guard and take it for however long that I could run and get down,” Williams said. “Then, from there, either clock it with the first down or whatever that situation would have been and then maybe score a touchdown the next one but if not, kick the field goal.
“It got loud (before the draw). I think (Larry) just missed or misheard the ‘go’ call,” Williams said. “Once I quickly realized Za’Darius was coming free, I didn’t want to risk (it) because I knew we still had one play. I didn’t want to risk jumping up or trying to throw the ball out of bounds and he knocks it down or I fumble or something. So, take the sack and try to get everybody back and get the last play off and get rolling.”
The problem was there was only one last play. The sack knocked the Bears back to the 41-yard line. It would have been a 59-yard field goal from there, probably within Santos’ “super kick” range but not ideal. There was time to try to get closer and use the timeout or clock the ball if the team got a first down as it was third-and-26.
“So, we’re at 36 seconds right there and our hope was, because it was third going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it in-bounds, get it in field goal range and then call a timeout,” Matt Eberflus said. “And that’s where it was and that was our decision-making process on that. Again, we were outside of field goal range so we needed to get a few more yards in there, as close as we can get, and then we were going to call a timeout, and that’s why we held that last timeout at the end of the game.”
Eberflus mentioned re-racking the second-down play a couple of times and that is where it gets super confusing. The only thing I can think of is the Bears had two calls. Maybe there was a pass and the QB draw and based on the look the Lions presented, they checked to the draw. Perhaps they liked the pass call that was an option on third down if they re-racked it. I’m only guessing here because it was impossible to walk away from Eberflus’ news conference feeling like you understood what happened.
Williams converted to a deep pass for Rome Odunze on the final play after the clock ticked under 10 seconds knowing he was out of time and had only one play. The ball was snapped with six seconds remaining.
“Honestly, I don’t even know,” Kmet said. “All of a sudden see everybody come on the field and the game is over. So, I was like, ‘What the eff just happened?’ The sack happens. By the time I turned around, Caleb was pretty much on the ground. We just gotta find a way to not take a sack there. And unfortunately the clock keeps running, and I am sure the thought process was then to be able to get some yardage and then take the timeout and then kick the field goal. But we were just a little too late on that.”
“You’re just like, ‘What the hell?’” Moore said. “Nah, it’s like, ‘What the bleep?’ We keep coming back in these games and be having time to actually win the game and we just s−−− the bed.”
The final 32 seconds — from when Smith tackled Williams for a loss — to the clock hitting zero will be re-litigated. I’m not sure it matters because however the Bears explain it — if they can all get on the same page — it’s not going to make sense. That’s the shame of ruining what could have been the kind of win that happens once in a blue moon after a wretched first half when the offense totaled only two first downs and the Lions held a 16-0 lead and a 279-53 advantage in yardage.
“It was kind of weird,” Vildor said. “I was in Chicago. I talked to some of the guys after the game. They were kind of confused as well. I don’t really know, man.”
Join the crowd.
3. Ben Johnson is going to have all sorts of options when Detroit’s season is over. Maybe that is not until after the Super Bowl but when that time comes, he will have opportunities.
Whether Johnson is an option for the Bears is a matter we won’t know for some time but I’d expect the Lions offensive coordinator, who basically walked away from chances to become the head coach in Washington and Carolina the last two offseasons, to be very picky. Coaches with options aren’t just looking at quarterbacks and rosters. They’re looking at infrastructure, personnel throughout the building and more. The Bears, when they have a coaching opening, will be intriguing because of Caleb Williams. They’ll be less appealing from the standpoint that the franchise has been unable to foster winning.
I visited the Lions locker room to get a feel for what veteran players — guys who have played for multiple teams and many coaches — have to say about the architect of Detroit’s high-powered offense.
“I’d say the details are very high,” said guard Kevin Zeitler, 34, who is in his first season with the Lions.
Zeitler, a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, has also spent time with the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants and played the last three seasons for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s experienced bad teams and losing. He’s played for one of the league’s model franchises. He’s been in many different systems.
“When I first got here, just being from other places and stuff, it kind of caught me off guard how much the O-line had to know,” Zeitler said. “Things I didn’t have to think about before. It’s a lot of details. It’s a lot of things. That’s it. Details.”
What’s wild is Detroit native Allen Robinson, who played for the Bears from 2018 through 2021, basically said the same thing. Robinson has seen a lot too, spending time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers and Giants. He’s seen good, bad and everything in between working in a vast array of systems.
“A lot different than anything else I’ve ever experienced,” Robinson said. “I have never been somewhere before where we’re on the details and the specifics of everything and it’s constant. That never wavers. I mean every single detail and every single specific when it comes to route running, splits, assignments, alignments, execution. We are on those constantly. I mean constantly. And there is no wavering from the details of all of that.”
That sounds great but the Bears or any other team interested in hiring Johnson is going to be projecting him in the big office as the head coach, a guy with a lot more on his plate than just the offense. That brings with it a whole list of questions. Can he command the room with the entire team in it?
“No doubt,” Zeitler said. “Ben is a really cool guy. He wants everyone to be great. He is a perfectionist in a way. But he’s also a realist. His realist and perfectionist sides battle each other quite a bit and it’s great. He’s awesome.”
Said Robinson: “He’s a good dude and he pushes us, challenges us. He gets the best out of us. I’ve seen that. I am glad to be a part of it because I see so much growth. Even myself as a player coming in and having to learn the offense and getting used to everything and really pushing myself to be better. He gets through to everyone.”
4. This game would have been a blowout had the Bears not made serious defensive improvements that, in the end, were too little too late.
The Lions were leading 16-0 late in the second quarter and going in for more when Jared Goff (21 of 34 for 221 yards) hit Jahmyr Gibbs for a short pass over the middle. Gibbs got down to the 6-yard line and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson blasted him, knocking the ball out for a fumble that Jonathan Owens recovered.
It was the only turnover in the game and the Bears have won the turnover margin in three of the last four games.
The Lions rushed for 144 yards in the first half, gashing the Bears, and they were super effective on the first play of each series. Consider that the Lions gained 10 or more yards on the opening play in six of their nine possessions. That’s a great head start.
But in the second half of the game, Eberflus outcoached Ben Johnson in terms of the Bears defense against the Lions offense. I’m not stating that as a reason for Eberflus’ job to be saved, it’s a matter of fact. Against a high-powered offense, the Bears tightened up and gave themselves a chance by holding Detroit to 50 yards rushing in the second half and holding them to 2 of 5 in the red zone for the game.
Defensive tackle Byron Cowart stuffed David Montgomery (88 yards on 21 carries) for a 1-yard loss on third-and-1 from the Lions’ 39-yard line with 4:23 to play, giving the offense a chance for the final drive.
The Bears added some blitz wrinkles in the second half that freed some rushers up to get after Goff. They moved defensive end Montez Sweat around a little more. After Detroit was 5 of 9 on third down in the first half, the Lions converted only 1 of 5 in the second half and this is an offense that has been unstoppable at times.
“We settled in the second half,” strong safety Kevin Byard said. “First half, we didn’t do a good enough job stopping the run. It’s been our Achilles’ heel this year, stopping the run, big plays in the pass game and the run game. Outside of that, we’ve played pretty good football. We gotta do a little bit better on third down early in the game but that second half we made some adjustments and I think we came out and played a lot better, cleaner too as well. We were tighter in the run game and better in the pass game. We came out cleaner.”
Like the Minnesota game the week before when wide receiver Jordan Addison went off and the Vikings had too many explosive plays, it wasn’t enough. The Bears remain stout in the red zone. They’ve been good on third down. Against good offenses, they’ve had a difficult time putting together a complete game. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon had a shot at an interception in the end zone and didn’t make it. They need more splash plays.
“It’s difficult regardless,” Byard said. “Losing like that is becoming a weekly thing. I love playing with these guys because we’re very resilient. We’re going to fight to the end. We just have to find ways to win these games.”
5. Three games into Thomas Brown’s stint as the offensive play caller, we’re getting a clear vision of why the Bears traded for Keenan Allen and what he can do.
He had five receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns and has scored three times in the last two games. Allen was targeted eight times after getting a season-high 15 targets last week against Minnesota with nine catches for 86 yards.
He’s doing it without being at 100%, last week dealing with the plantar fasciitis issue that plagued him earlier in the season and playing on a turned ankle this week.
“We’re trying to put some things together to try to make sure he has a chance to be able to do what he does,” wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said. “So we put some stuff in that I am accustomed with. That’s part of the process, making it easier for Caleb (Williams). (Fifteen targets) is never by accident. (Allen) and (DJ Moore) need to touch the ball.”
Moore got a season-high 16 targets against the Lions and the Bears have certainly done a better job of highlighting their wide receivers since Brown took over.
In a lost season — and this one looks headed in that direction — veterans can shut down. Allen is going to be necessary for Williams in the final five games.
“Last week, it was the top of the foot,” Allen said. “I got rolled up on the ankle today.”
How did he make it back on the field?
“Just kind of had that dog,” he said. “You know I had them Kobe’s (Kobe Bryant shoes) on, so the Mamba mentality clicked a little bit.”
Allen is in a contract year so he needs to produce to position himself for a payday after the season. The flip side of that is sometimes veterans don’t want to have film where they aren’t at 100%. Fortunately, Allen is doing everything he can to be available for Williams at this point and the simple adjustments Brown has made as play caller — getting the ball out to the skill position guys — has helped.
6. “In 1977, the Bears will play in Arlington Heights.” Those words were spoken by “Papa Bear” George Halas himself on May 28, 1975, at a board meeting in the suburb.
Of course that never happened, and the Bears made news last week by announcing they’ve reached an agreement on property taxes for the 326-acre parcel they own in Arlington Heights. Not long ago the team was intent on building a new stadium on that land, once home to the Arlington Park racetrack.
Does it mean the Bears are once again on a path to Arlington Heights? Of course not. When announcing the long-awaited deal on taxes, the team reiterated its focus remains on building a new stadium in the city.
I reference Halas’ appearance at the village meeting in 1975 to illustrate how incredibly long the franchise has been tangled in a stadium mess it cannot seem to solve. It actually has been more than 50 years — within a few decades of the Bears’ better-known quarterback issue that Caleb Williams may be on his way to solving.
Halas pledged at the meeting to sign a 35-year lease if a new 80,000-seat stadium was constructed adjacent to Arlington Park. He was steadfast even as Mayor Richard J. Daley threatened to disown the team if it left Chicago. Daley claimed he wouldn’t allow them to call themselves the “Chicago Bears,” as if he had any control over the team’s name.
“Tonight, I should like to put to rest all rumors about that,” Halas said. “In 1977, the Bears will need a new stadium. In 1977, the Bears will play in Arlington Heights.”
Go ahead and file that with the dozens of declarations owners and team leaders have uttered over the years during various stadium quests that never came to fruition. And think about it for a second. The Bears knew they needed a new stadium in 1975 and didn’t get the second-class one they’re now pining to replace until 2003.
In 1978, Bears President George “Mugs” Halas Jr. threatened to leave Soldier Field because concerns the team raised with the Chicago Park District were not being adequately addressed.
“I think it’s time we started taking off the gloves,” Halas Jr. told the Tribune’s Don Pierson. “Maybe we’ve been quiet too long.”
In June 1991, the Bears targeted nine suburban sites for a new stadium, including West Chicago, Waukegan, Arlington Heights and Hoffman Estates. This was after the McDome project, slated for Gary, fell apart.
“The nine look like there is some promise on assistance with land acquisition, infrastructure and taxes,” Bears director of team administration Tim LeFevour told Pierson.
At the time, the team was looking for an open-air stadium that seated 74,000.
When the Bears left Wrigley Field after the 1970 season, Soldier Field was supposed to be a temporary home. The team signed a three-year lease on May 13, 1971, a deal that included two one-year options. Here they are, more than a half-century later, searching for something else.
Chicago Bears and Soldier Field: What to know about the possible stadium move — or transformation
What’s the upshot in the wake of the tax settlement in Arlington Heights? Approach anything the team says with skepticism and realize nothing is off the table until a shovel is in the ground somewhere.
While I believe the team still is thinking city first, this probably adds a little boost to the possibility the Bears eventually do land in Arlington Heights. How much of a boost? I have no clue, but the Bears already could be building there if they wanted to.
A deal to build just south of Soldier Field seems stuck in the mud. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is under siege with myriad other issues, is the only high-profile politician in favor of that option. The Bears will need some big hitters involved with more cachet than Johnson. The Michael Reese Hospital site on the South Side is an option with a lot of things working against it.
The bottom line is don’t rule out anything. Maybe one day a Halas heir will declare, “In 2028, the Bears will play in Arlington Heights.”
7. Something Dan Campbell said in his postgame remarks resonated and is worth keeping in mind as the Bears work to get back to winning ways that have been so fleeting.
With eight losses, they are one away from ensuring they have a non-winning season for the 11th time in the last 12 years. It’s a frustrating spot to be in after a 4-2 start to the season when Halas Hall was brimming with confidence — maybe too much. Players recognized there were things that needed to be tightened up. A game was lost at Indianapolis that probably should have been won.
Bumpy roads are to be expected with a rookie quarterback but the Bears blew out a couple of struggling teams in Carolina and Jacksonville so the feeling was, hey, they’re doing what you’re supposed to do against inferior competition. You bury the opponent.
Since they had the heartbreak in Washington, they sleepwalked through losses to Arizona and New England and it’s been a series of face-plants at the end of the game for three consecutive weeks. And it all reminds me of what I was told on the trip to Washington, when everything began to unravel even after it appeared Caleb Williams had guided them to victory in a game they had no business winning. Some folks were riding high and maybe lacked perspective on the razor-thin margin there is for success in the NFL on a weekly basis. It’s a grind and Campbell encapsulated that and how teams need to handle success.
“You start grading your own wins and it’s good because you have these standards — the way you think you should play, by your own standards, by what you have,” he said. “Has nothing to do with the opponent, it’s just you know yourselves, and you know what you’re capable of. And so, if you’re not careful, you start going too far down that thing. Then you start taking wins for granted.
“Ultimately, that’s a good win (today) against an opponent that has fought every week, and this was the third game in a row, division game, that those guys have brought it over there. So we did what we had to do to win. We’ll clean up the other stuff that cost us some points. I’m not worried about that. But I will take this ‘W’ and I’m not going to lose sleep over it.”
8. One move that flew under the radar in the aftermath of the offensive coordinator switch and final-play losses to the Packers and Vikings was the addition of center Ricky Stromberg.
The Bears signed Stromberg, a 2023 third-round draft pick out of Arkansas by the Washington Commanders, to the practice squad. Barring more injuries on the offensive line, it’s unlikely Stromberg will figure in the mix this season. But the team has a couple of months to evaluate Stromberg, see where he is healthwise and consider him as an option for 2025.
One thing is clear: Stromberg really wants to be at Halas Hall.
The Commanders selected him with the 97th pick, the fourth center off the board last year. Washington drafted him after signing veteran Nick Gates to play center, so Stromberg also worked at guard after getting time at center.
“I thought Ricky was going to be our center in all honesty,” said former Bears left tackle Charles Leno, who played for the Commanders last season before retiring. “I felt like when he got there, he understood what a center was supposed to do. He put people in the right positions. He helped when he was supposed to help.
“I thought he did a good job, but they had already signed Nick and they tried to move (Stromberg) to guard. I thought he was going to be a really good center in this league. I am pretty sure I am not the only one that thought that, but coaches, they think differently. I thought he was going to do a fine job at center for us.”
Stromberg got a little bit of work as a reserve guard before suffering a right knee injury on an extra point in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. His knee cap was dislocated, he tore the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) and season-ending surgery was required.
Stromberg’s health and a change in regime — the Commanders replaced the front office and coaching staff — put him in limbo, and at the end of training camp an MRI revealed torn cartilage in the same knee. It was unrelated to the MPFL surgery and required arthroscopic surgery. The Commanders waived him with an eight-week injury settlement.
By October, he was getting considerable interest from teams wondering where he was physically. Once everything was cleared, Stromberg chose the Bears over a handful of other situations.
It was a no-brainer. Stromberg’s father is from Elk Grove Village and his mother is from Prospect Heights. He has a grandfather and uncle living in Elk Grove Village. He grew up a Bears fan.
The Bears brought in Stromberg for a top-30 visit before the 2023 draft, and he was hoping then that they would select him.
“It was a bummer how it worked out in Washington,” he said. “I wasn’t happy but I was grateful for the time I had there. I was grateful for the way everything was handled after I knew I wasn’t going to be there. They set me up pretty good. Gave me peace of mind while I was doing rehab.
“When you’re not their guy (in a regime change), you start from here (the bottom) and work your way up. That’s part of it. I was looking out for my future. I think this is best for my future. It’s hard to beat it and I’ve got family here too. In the end, it kind of worked out.”
Stromberg, who is 6-foot-3½ and 322 pounds, said he’s fully healthy now. Starting center Coleman Shelton is playing on a one-year contract. Ryan Bates, who also plays guard, is signed through 2025. Reserve center Doug Kramer is under team control moving forward.
How the Bears will set out to upgrade the offensive line in the offseason remains to be seen. Left guard Teven Jenkins will be an unrestricted free agent, and his availability issues are well-documented. It’s possible general manager Ryan Poles will focus on creating a firm pocket for Caleb Williams, which would mean prioritizing the three interior positions.
No question that could mean drafting a center or adding one via free agency. But if the Bears see upside in Stromberg in the next two months, he could position himself as possible competition.
“He’s an athletic guy,” offensive line coach Chris Morgan said. “Played hard at Arkansas. We’re excited to have him. From what I understand, everything is great (healthwise). He had toughness coming out. He had hat speed coming out.”
9. There’s no question that when Shane Waldron was hired, the offensive coordinator had a voice in personnel meetings and it’s easy to connect the dots from him to tight end Gerald Everett.
Waldron was the tight ends coach for the Los Angeles Rams when Everett was drafted in 2017 and was on Sean McVay’s staff for the first four seasons Everett played in the league. When Waldron became the offensive coordinator in Seattle in 2021, the Seahawks added Everett.
So, it was no surprise the Bears added Everett in March when free agency opened. The move to sign Everett to a $12 million, two-year contract signaled the club might put a greater emphasis on 12 personnel. The Bears could sell Everett’s versatility as a guy who could be almost a wide receiver or even line up in the backfield at times.
That never took shape and Everett’s playing time has dipped of late, especially since Waldron was replaced. He got a season-high 34 snaps in Week 1 when Waldron made the blunder of using him more than Cole Kmet. That was an early sign things were off to a peculiar start.
Everett averaged 22.7 snaps per game in the next six games through the Week 8 game Washington but he’s hardly been involved since. He was on the field for 15 plays at Arizona, 14 against New England, eight against Green Bay and then just three snaps against Minnesota. At Detroit, Everett had two snaps by my count. That’s 13 snaps in the last three weeks.
Everett averaged 49.5 catches and three touchdowns per season over the last four years. He entered Sunday’s game with 11 targets, seven receptions, 30 yards, no touchdowns and only one first down. The Bears have finally started getting Kmet more involved in the passing game and it’s proven to be an odd fit with Everett as there isn’t playing time or targets for him. There isn’t any remaining guaranteed money in the deal after this year. He has a base salary of $5.06 million with $340,000 in per-game roster bonuses ($20,000 per game) and a $100,000 workout bonus on the books for 2025.
Everett admitted he was frustrated after the game. No surprise there. He politely declined to talk about the situation. He probably doesn’t want to vent or say something that could be misinterpreted. I get that. I’m not suggesting there’s a need to get him the ball or a way to involve him more either. I’m just pointing out there’s a trickle-down effect when you hire the wrong coach and in this case, it hasn’t worked for the team or the player. If you believe in your coordinators, they’re going to have a voice in personnel moves. The best teams have a way of identifying players who fit the coaches and the scheme, and the personnel and coaching staffs work seamlessly. The Bears need to continue working in that direction.
10. With five games remaining in the season, we have a clearer look at the Bears’ list of 2025 opponents.
The Bears will have eight home games (two in preseason) and nine road games (one in preseason). Here’s what we know:
- Home games: Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, New York Giants, NFC North rivals and a corresponding finisher from the NFC South
- Away games: Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, NFC North rivals, NFC West corresponding finisher and an AFC West corresponding finisher
With the Bears deep in the basement in the NFC North, it’s unlikely they will be above fourth place. That makes it likely they will host the Carolina Panthers or New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in 2025. The Panthers at 3-8 are just one game behind the 4-7 Saints. If the Bears are matched up with the Panthers, it will be the third consecutive year they have hosted Carolina at Soldier Field.
Chances are high the Bears will have a road game in Las Vegas, as the Raiders are 2-9 and 4 1/2 games behind the third-place Denver Broncos in the AFC West. The NFC West opponent is completely up in the air with one game separating the four teams. Seattle and Arizona are 6-5 while the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco are 5-6.
10a. Caleb Williams set an NFL rookie record as he has now thrown 232 consecutive passes without an interception, moving past Kyler Murray, who had 211 passes without a pick in his 2019 debut season. Williams’ streak is also a Bears record, moving him ahead of Kyle Orton (205 in 2008). Williams now holds the Bears’ record for touchdown passes by a rookie with 14. His three TD passes Thursday moved him out of a tie with Charlie O’Rourke (11 in 1942).
10b. There have to be some injury concerns coming out of the game. Right tackle Darnell Wright left the game and did not return with a knee injury. Running back Roschon Johnson was removed from the game with a concussion. Defensive end Montez Sweat left the game briefly and returned.
10c. The Bears’ 36th annual coat drive is underway. Participating Jewel-Osco locations in the area are accepting donations of new and gently used coats through Feb. 10. For more information, call the Salvation Army Holiday Hotline at 773-205-3690 or search locations to find a box at a local Jewel-Osco.
10d. The San Francisco 49ers were installed as a 6-point favorite over the Bears on the look-ahead line at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas for the Dec. 8 game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
