Ben Johnson Makes Emphatic Statement on Plans For Bears’ New Offense With Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears finished in the NFC North cellar last season, giving the team’s front office plenty to think about heading into 2025. Chicago responded with the hiring of highly celebrated Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, giving former number one overall pick Caleb Williams the chance to learn a whole new system with a proven track record and two division titles to its name. On Saturday, Johnson’s plans for the new Bears’ offense with the former USC Trojans star behind center were revealed, with Johnson making an emphatic statement as to the type of offensive attack he wants to say take hold in the Windy City. “Standing on the opposite sideline from him this year, I gained a tremendous amount of respect for not only the talent level that he possesses but also the type of person he is,” Johnson said. “This is going to be really, I like to fancy the quarterback’s offense.” The Bears finished near the bottom of the NFL in passing years during Williams’ 2024 rookie season with 3,552. Johnson envisions Williams as the focal point of his team’s offense next season.

“We’re going to tailor this right around Caleb Williams,” Johnson said. “It will not be necessarily what you’ve seen me (do) the last three years. We’re gonna find out exactly what our quarterback does well and that’s really where we’re going to anchor on.

In this 13-part series, we’ll take an in-depth look at each position group for the Chicago Bears with an eye toward the 2025 season. We’ll speculate on who stays, who goes, and some potential additions we’d like to see general manager Ryan Poles make.

The Chicago Bears ran the ball about 40% of the time last season, which ranked 25th in the NFL. Ben Johnson’s Detroit Lions ran the ball about 46% of the time, which ranked 8th. The Lions had two starter-level tailbacks that they used in tandem, and they combined for over 3,000 yards from scrimmage.

The Bears had one viable running back on the roster in 2024, and while D’Andre Swift had a career-high 1,345 yards from scrimmage, he’d be more effective if he had a reliable RB2 or, better yet, if he were the RB2.

The last year Swift was with the Lions (2021), he had a career-best 5.5 yards per carry on 99 attempts while chipping in with 48 receptions. If the Bears can find another back, I’d expect Swift’s touches to be closer to ’21 than the 295 he had a season ago.

Here’s how Chicago’s RB room currently shapes up.

D’Andre Swift – Signed through 2026 – Some fans immediately penciled Swift in as a cut candidate when the Bears hired Johnson, but if he’s let go, the Bears would have a $8.7 million dead cap hit. I think his roster spot is safe, and Ben Johnson will get another back to split time with him.

Roschon Johnson – Signed through 2026 – I was a fan of the Bears drafting RoJo, but I’ve yet to be impressed by anything he’s done on the field. He’s an okay player. He can play special teams, he can catch, he can pass block, and at 225 pounds, he can fall forward for a few yards. I see him sticking around in 2025; I’d just like to see him as the RB3 or RB4.

Travis Homer – Free agent – Homer was a fine reserve/special teamer, but I think his time in Chicago is over.

Darrynton Evans – Free agent – Evans has been bouncing around the NFL since 2020 when he was a third-round pick, and his 2024 stop with the Bears was his ninth stop in his career.