Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are working to formulate a plan for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams some reps in the preseason this August. The Bears will play their first preseason game on Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans in this year's Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. The Bears want to give the No. 1 overall pick ample action in preseason games and have been discussing it since the spring. Chicago believes the reps Williams gets in practice against the Bears defense will also be valuable, and they'll also have a joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 15. The former USC QB is hoping to learn the team's offense "as fast as possible" as he heads into his first NFL season as the starter in Week 1 this fall. The 22-year-old was clearly the most NFL-ready signal-caller in the 2024 draft class and could have low-end QB1 fantasy value in the right matchups in his first year with the Bears.

The Chicago Bears placed veteran tight end Gerald Everett (undisclosed) on the Non-Football Injury list on Friday. The Bears didn't give a specific injury for Everett, but he did injure his knee in the Week 18 regular-season finale with the Los Angeles Chargers. The 30-year-old is now in Chicago in 2024 and will serve as a backup at the position behind Cole Kmet when he's healthy, which will make him unattractive in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. The former second-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 has only gone over 500 receiving yards once in his career and has never scored more than four touchdowns in a single season, so his upside was already limited. In 15 games (12 starts) for the Bolts last year, Everett hauled in 51 of his 70 targets for 411 yards and three touchdowns. It remains to be seen if Everett will even be ready for the start of the regular season.

The Chicago Bears and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams agreed to terms on his rookie deal on Tuesday, according to sources. The rookie quarterback out of USC will received a slotted four-year, $39.49 million fully guaranteed contract that includes a $25.5 million signing bonus. Unsurprisingly, the 22-year-old was named the team's starting signal-caller back in May after the team traded Justin Fields to the Steeler and selected Williams with the first overall pick in April's draft. In addition to being the most NFL-ready QB in this year's draft class, Williams heads to Chicago with plenty of offensive weapons around him, giving him low-end QB1/high-end QB2 upside in fantasy in his first year in the league. His dual-threat abilities as a passer and rusher make him by far and away the most attractive dynasty/keeper QB this year.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams remains without a contract. Yet, the rookie is apparently not concerned about it, considering he reported he hasn't been involved in negotiations. "I'm not handling that," said Williams when asked about a potential deal. "My lawyers and attorney and everybody, the head of the Bears, everybody up there up top is handling that. That's not my position that I'm handling." There are several issues holding things up. However, Williams doesn't have an NFLPA-certified agent, so it's unknown who is orchestrating things behind the scenes on his behalf. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick has plenty of pressure on him heading into his inaugural year, especially since he is replacing Justin Fields, a move that didn't sit well with some. With that said, Williams is expected to have more than a few impressive rookie showings, although fantasy managers should expect growing pains.

Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore's current contract runs through the 2025 season, so nothing is urgent at this time, but he's currently 17th among wideouts in terms of average salary and is coming off a career year in his first year in Chicago in which he caught 96 passes on 136 targets for a career-high 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 17 starts. Moore has become one of the faces of the franchise, and general manager Ryan Poles might want to reward him with a new deal sooner than later. Fellow receiver Keenan Allen will be a free agent after the 2024 season and is likely to enter the year on an expiring contract, as the Bears want to see what he has left at 32 before considering keeping him around beyond one year. Moore certainly has more competition for targets with Allen around now, but he's a pretty safe WR2 target this fall.