Chicago Bears RB Swift is confident in how Caleb Williams will handle rookie year
As the Chicago Bears wrapped up their final practice before game week, running back D'Andre Swift knows there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to seeing what the offense can do. But he is confident in how rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will handle whatever happens.
"We all know it's a lot on his plate," Swift said. "Just how he stays calm with everything, just his urge to get better, I can't say that enough. You can tell he wants to be great and that's what you look for. There's going to be ups and downs throughout the season. There's going to be adversity for sure, but he never gets too high or too low."
The Bears have a new long snapper, at least for now. Downers Grove South and Notre Dame alum Scott Daly got his first work in with kicker Cairo Santos and punter/holder Tory Taylor. For them, building fast chemistry is key to the operation working.
"It is extremely challenging. I'm not gonna sugar coat it," said Richard Hightower, the Bears special teams coordinator. "A lot of people think that you just snap, hold, kick it and the ball goes through the uprights, but it's a lot of different things that play into that, the laces, the lean on the ball, the wind, how you snap the ball can change that, how you hold the ball can change that. So it's just something we're going to have to work through and we feel great about it."
Some injuries to watch heading into next week include veterans Keenan Allen and Montez Sweat, who were both on the sidelines again for practice. The team will release its first official injury report next Wednesday.
Still, the imminent start of the regular season means players are fine tuning things, but linebacker TJ Edwards is more than ready to start hitting somebody in a different uniform.
"I feel like it's hit that point where I'm honestly sick of seeing our offense a little bit," Edwards said. "I know the rest of our defense feels the same way, but it's the grind. That's what it is, but I think [we'll] take this good weekend here, reset for a second and then, here we go."
The Bears open the regular season at home against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8 at noon.
