Rookie QB Caleb Williams among 8 Bears captains - ESPN

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears named eight captains for the 2024 season Monday, including rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

The selection process for team captains has historically been based on player voting. The No. 1 draft pick is the first rookie to earn the distinction since Bears coach Matt Eberflus was hired in 2022 and is believed to be the only first-year player in franchise history to be named a season-long captain since the team officially began appointing them in 2007.

«When you come to work every day like he did, and go through the things that he had to grow through, especially against the defense, and you see the work that he was putting in day in and day out, I mean you can't do anything but respect that and want him to be a captain for you,» wide receiver DJ Moore said.

Williams' leadership has been a hot topic throughout the offseason after the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner replaced quarterback Justin Fields, who was traded to Pittsburgh in March. The rookie's ability to win over the locker room since arriving in May is among the highlights of his early Bears career for general manager Ryan Poles.

«It's fairly natural,» Poles noted of Williams' leadership. «It's not forced. We've all been in teams before, but like there's people that come into those situations and they try too hard. It's like, man, it's awkward. It's hard to buy into that. Then there's guys that they can navigate that so naturally because they're authentic and it's real, and that's what he's done. Then on top of that, just as a professional player, you have to perform, you have to do some things that guys are like, 'OK, there's something different about you.' And then pair that with a good natural, just good social skills, some cool