The Chicago Bears are already being connected to this free agent wide receiver
The wide receiver market was a slow one to open up the legal tampering period in free agency and with it being a position of need for the Chicago Bears, they have yet to make a move there. However, there’s still some talent left and they could move fast on a recently released wide receiver.
With Calvin Ridley, Darnell Mooney, and Gabriel Davis signing elsewhere, one of the top free agent players at the position is former Los Angeles Chargers receiver Mike Williams. He was released on Wednesday afternoon as the Chargers needed to get under the cap ahead of the new league year.
For the Chicago Bears, they have a connection with Williams as current wide receivers coach Chris Beatty spent three seasons with Williams in Los Angeles.
Keep an eye on the Chicago Bears as Williams' WR coach for the last three seasons, Chris Beatty, is now the WR coach under HC Matt Eberflus. https://t.co/ZVNSJHIVpt
— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) March 13, 2024
Kyle Yates isn’t the only one who pointed that out, either. In fact, CBS Sports Jonathan Jones noted it and tweeted that we should keep an eye on the Chicago Bears as a possible landing spot for him as they have the money and there is some familiarity there. The Bears also have a need at wide receiver and would love to give DJ Moore and good No. 2 receiver opposite of him.
One landing spot that could make sense is Chicago. The Bears have the money, and there's familiarity there with former Chargers WR coach Chris Beatty now leading that position in Chicago https://t.co/iDfZK7vGQk
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 13, 2024
Going into the 2023, Williams credited Beatty with having a big impact in his career thus far as Daniel Popper wrote in The Athletic:
What Beatty saw from Williams was untapped potential. Williams was entering his fifth NFL season on an expiring contract. He was a good NFL player, but he had not yet lived up to where the Chargers drafted him. Beatty had a plan to change that.“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Beatty remembers telling Williams that offseason. “If you do what I ask you to do, you’re going to get 80 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns and get a big contract.”Williams, a man of few words, gave Beatty a simple reply: “I got you, Coach.”
Does Mike Williams make sense for the Chicago Bears?
Outside of the obvious connection with Beatty, does Williams make any sense for Matt Eberflus’ team this offseason? I mentioned the need for a No. 2 wide receiver and Williams is now the top option available.
He shouldn’t be expensive either and with the Chicago Bears not landing a big-name pass rusher, there is money to spend for another need.
The issue with Williams though is his health. The 29-year-old will enter his eighth season in 2024 and just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s played a full season just one time in his career and is coming off a 2023 campaign in which he played in just 3 games with a torn ACL. Here is a little more on his injury history and what he can do when healthy per NFL.com:
When healthy, Williams is a field-stretching force who owns the size-speed combo to make life miserable on defenses. However, he missed 18 games in the past two seasons. Williams played just three games in 2023 before suffering a torn ACL. In 2022, he missed four regular-season games and the Chargers’ playoff loss due to injury. In seven years with L.A., Williams has played a full-season slate once.
When he’s on the field, the 6-foot-4 wideout is a big-play generator. Since 2018, Williams leads the NFL with 15.8 yards per reception (min. 250 catches). From 2018-2023, 22.1 percent of Williams’ targets came from deep passes, per Next Gen Stats (fifth-highest percentage among players with at least 250 targets).
Along with the Chicago Bears, the New England Patriots are a team to watch as they have been connected to other free-agent wide receivers. The Chargers also want to try and bring him back on a cheaper deal.
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