LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson gave Caleb Williams a clear directive to detach from football. The quarterback obliged but admitted the 11-win regular season that culminated with the franchise's first playoff win in 15 years was one of the hardest he has had to step away from. The way it ended -- a 20-17 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round -- left him wanting more, and quickly.
"It was good for me to be able to see, to be able to feel, to be able to go out there and win games," Williams said Monday. "But that wasn't my goal. That's not my goal. That's not where I want to be. I want to be the best. I want to go win. I want to be, as we call it, a world champion. A Super Bowl champion. I want to be the best Bear quarterback, the best quarterback.
"That was a good steppingstone for me. But that wasn't the last steppingstone. Being able to grow off of last year and be able to progress in ways that I want to? That last year really wasn't anything. It was a good year. We've got many more good years coming up."
Taking Johnson's words to heart, Williams spent the past three months seeing friends; hosting workouts at his alma mater, USC, with Bears teammates Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Jahdae Walker; and taking in several acts during the first weekend at Coachella.
But the taste of success the 24-year-old quarterback achieved in his first season paired with Johnson when he threw for 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions while the Bears won the NFC North was often on his mind. When it came time to report to Halas Hall for the start of the offseason program on April 20, Williams was beyond ready.
.@CALEBcsw is live at the podium https://t.co/P0e9gD7kLk
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 20, 2026
"I've been itching to get back, honestly, since the [Rams] game and trying not to text Ben too much," Williams said. "Excited to be back. I'm excited to be around the guys. Been waiting on this day to get back to see the new faces and obviously some of the guys that have been here.
"You set the plan for what's to come for this year so we can all have one goal and go achieve that at the end of the year."
As Johnson and Williams linked back up at the beginning the offseason program, which is limited to strength and conditioning activities during Phase I, the message Johnson left the quarterback with during exit meetings set the tone for the QB's third season.
"It's going to be more difficult. I'm going to push you more," Williams said Johnson told him in January. "And my answer is, 'Yes sir. Let's do it.' You know what I mean? I have a goal. He has a goal. And those align with each other. And it's making sure we get to that end game.
"He is going to push me. I am going to push myself and I'm going to push my teammates. And he's going to push my teammates and things like that. We're going to find ways to get better. We're going to find ways to reach where we want to reach."
If Williams reaches his individual and team goals in 2026, the idea of a contract extension becomes very real at this time next offseason.
The magnitude of that isn't lost on Williams.
"I would say for me, personally, it's a big year in the sense that I get to grow more, I get to step into the role that I spoke about for the past two years being up here," Williams said. "That's important for me. I'm really excited."
As Williams learned during a season that featured two four-game winning streaks and saw him reset the record book for Bears quarterbacks, his individual and team success correlated directly with increased exposure that spans the spectrum.
Last month, Williams and his representatives submitted four trademarks for "Iceman," the nickname the quarterback earned for the seven winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks he led the Bears on during the 2025 season, including the playoffs.
That action put him in the crosshairs of Hall of Fame basketball player George Gervin, who shares the same moniker. Williams said the trademark process is an "open-ended thing" that has yet to be sorted out.
"Not the biggest focus right now for me," Williams said. "It's around. And so we'll figure it out here coming up with how it all turns out. George ... we'll probably speak, like I said, at some point. Haven't spoken yet. Have been running around, been busy, and things like that. Like I said, we'll figure it out here soon."
While on-field work is still weeks away, Williams is eager to build off the season that saw him reach heights few other quarterbacks have in franchise history. For an athlete who has long been in the spotlight, the heightened exposure as QB1 of the Bears is something Williams relishes ahead of his third season.
"I've always expected this because I've wanted to be here," Williams said. "This is where I've wanted to be. I've wanted to be in this position. I always say, 'If winning games and championships comes with a little bit more light, then so be it.'
"And so, we're going to keep chugging along, and like I said to the question earlier is, I have goals in mind and things I want to reach myself and it mainly deals with winning. So like I said, it's where I want to be, it's where I thought I was going to be, it's where I manifested, whatever you want to say, spoke it into existence of where I want to be. And I have goals and things like that won't allow me to get distracted."