Bears training camp update: Caleb Williams is struggling early. Here’s why coaches aren’t worried.

The Bears aren’t sounding the alarm yet after three training camp practices.

Quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense have struggled to build much momentum in new head coach Ben Johnson’s system. Coaches have stopped plays when the Bears haven’t broken the huddle correctly, and passes have fallen to the ground because of miscommunication or inaccuracy.

But Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle wasn’t concerned about the slow start early into camp.

“This whole thing is a process, and for the next six weeks we’re going to get a ton of reps on all of these plays,“ Doyle told reporters Friday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. ”We’re going to try to master these things. The first time you guys did anything, you know, you’re not quite a master at it yet. It takes a little bit of work and progression to get there.”

Doyle emphasized the obvious Friday: There’s a lot of learning going on as the Bears install their new offense. Friday was the first time the Bears practiced red zone situations and also went through a two-minute drill.

Coaches such as Doyle were more concerned about how the Bears approached each play. At this point in the season, the players’ responses to their mistakes was more important than the mistakes themselves.

Doyle told reporters that all of Williams’ plays in team drills are filmed in order for him to learn from what went wrong. The Bears use the tape to gauge whether Williams is making day-to-day progress. It’s also how the Bears track whether Williams is near the team’s goal for him to complete 70% of his passes.

“That information is really helpful, because obviously it’s one thing to say that, it’s another thing to walk into the quarterback meeting and hand them a sheet that says, ‘Hey, you’re above or below championship standards,’” Doyle said. “It’s something we’ll track throughout camp. Obviously that’s our benchmark, our goal. But that’s the biggest thing: We have to track all of it and make sure our players are aware of what we’re going to ask them to do.”

While the completions aren’t there yet for Williams, Doyle has seen the quarterback progress in the next step of his development: the pre-snap process.

“This whole thing is a progress and for the next six weeks we’re going to get a ton of reps on all of these plays. We’re going to try to master these things. The first time you guys did anything, you know, you’re not quite a master at it yet. It takes a little bit of work and progression to get there.”

—  Declan Doyle, Chicago Bears offensive coordinator

Doyle said Williams’ process is evolving. He has become more comfortable in terms of breaking the huddle, going up to the line of scrimmage, choosing where to look, communicating with his teammates and deciding where to throw the ball after the snap.

Veteran offensive tackle Joe Thuney has seen an improvement in Williams’ process and how he brings the offense together.

“I think he’s been great just communicating, getting everyone on the same page, just trying to make sure all 11 guys are locked in and ready to go,” Thuney said. “I think he does a great job communicating and instilling confidence in each other and ourselves.”

The errors aren’t just on Williams. Some of the misplayed balls were because a receiver didn’t run the right route, dropped a ball or didn’t get to his spot in time.

Earlier in the offseason, Johnson and Doyle emphasized the importance of timing between Williams and his receivers. Getting that timing down will take, well, time.

“It’s going to take about the six weeks,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Or sooner. You want to be connected, like I said, hip to hip with all the guys. Me, Rome [Odunze], Olamide [Zaccheaus]. Everybody in the room. It’s just like you need to have that connection with everybody. Because everybody can play a different spot.”

Practice notes

The Bears’ offense had its highs and lows during the first practice open to the public Friday.

After some mixed results during the first couple of sets of 11-on-11s against pressure from the defense, the first-team offense slumped during 7-on-7s. Williams’ first pass was dropped, then he misfired on his next two passes. Safety Jaquan Brisker intercepted the next pass off a deflection, and linebacker TJ Edwards intercepted a pass right to him in the end zone.

The struggles continued in the first set of 11-on-11 red zone drills. Williams didn’t complete a pass in that set, but the defense was called for a pass interference in the end zone on the first pass.

Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson started the second set with a nice pass defended at the goal line. But Williams responded and threw a touchdown to Ozdunze in the corner of the end zone and to Zaccheaus in the back of the end zone.

The red zone mixed results emphasizes the importance of timing.

“It’s a race to the spot every time,” Moore said. “Even from the time you line up and get set, you have to be loaded. Because when the ball is snapped, you’ve got like 2-3 seconds to be at your spot before the defenders either get in the backfield or Caleb is off.”

Second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo took left tackle snaps with the first team, while linebacker Noah Sewell played the third linebacker spot for a third straight day.

Undrafted free agent JP Richardson made a couple of nice receptions as he continues to impress with the third team.

Taking attendance

The Bears didn’t add any unexpected absences at Friday’s practice.

Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III (soft-tissue injury) and rookie cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) each missed their third consecutive practice while rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner (ankle) missed his second straight practice. Johnson didn’t speak with the media Friday but could provide an update before Saturday’s session.

Left tackle Braxton Jones had a planned day off Friday as he ramps back into football shape. He didn’t practice all of the offseason heading into training camp as he recovered from ankle surgery he had toward the end of last season.