Williams’ rookie campaign was an arduous one in which the Bears went 5-12. He was sacked 68 times (third-most in NFL history) and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus were each fired during the season.
Following a 4-2 start, the Bears lost 10 in a row before a season-ending win over the archrival Green Bay Packers. Despite the dismissals of Waldron and Eberflus, Williams was never of the belief that his worst fears were coming to realization.
“Wasn’t at a point where I looked at it was like, I knew this would happen,” he said. “Nobody, I think, would sit back, especially after you go 4-2 in the first six weeks, you don’t sit back and wonder and ponder on the bad. You face it when the bad comes, and that’s what we did.”
At season’s end, Williams threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Atop of a ballyhooed ’24 draft class that saw fellow first-round quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix lead their teams to the postseason and Drake Maye draw rave reviews, Williams’ confidence remains unwavering despite the tribulations.
“This past year was a bump. There was good, bad and indifferent,” Williams said.
The book is set to be released on Sept. 9, a day after the Bears open their season against the aforementioned O’Connell and the Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Williams doesn’t foresee it being a distraction again.
“That’s why I came up here today to address this,” Williams said.
Though it’s unlikely this will be the last time Williams will be asked about his pre-draft thoughts or the upcoming book, he’s looking to move forward along with Ben Johnson, his second head coach in as many seasons.
Williams is also hopeful of overcoming the snake-bitten past of Bears QBs and of ultimately leading a Chicago renaissance after six straight years without a winning season.
“All those things, like I said, were thoughts, but the main goal and the main objective of being here is to turn (it) around,” Williams said. “That’s why I was selected No. 1. That’s what we’re here to do. That’s what they brought, you know, me here to do.”