Bears fans know all too well about Aaron Rodgers. 

The former Green Bay Packers quarterback and current signal-caller for the Pittsburgh Steelers has played the Bears 29 times in his 21-year NFL career, winning 24 of those games. 

Caleb Williams is also familiar with Rodgers, as he was someone the current Bears’ quarterback watched growing up while learning the position. 

“There’s probably only a couple of quarterbacks in the world that have been able to spin the ball the way that he does,” Williams said. “Growing up as a kid when you find and realize how hard it is to play this position, you admire some of the things he’s been able to do over the long career he has had. The way he’s been able to spin the ball and put the ball in different places, whether on the run or in the pocket, that’s something I probably would say.”

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Rodgers has a fractured wrist, but the Steelers haven’t ruled him out for the Week 12 matchup at Soldier Field. If Rodgers does play on Sunday, it will be his 259th game. Williams will make his 28th NFL start. 

In 2005, the Packers drafted Rodgers with the No. 24 overall pick. He backed up Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre for three seasons before taking over as the starter ahead of the 2008 season. Williams was the Bears’ Day 1 starter when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

The opportunities for highly drafted quarterbacks to sit and develop aren’t nearly as common as it was in the past. But neither approach guarantees success. Rodgers has had two decades, though, to develop into the player he is today.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson still sees the 41-year-old quarterback getting the ball out of his hands at an elite level and doing so accurately. Williams, 24, still has plenty of time to develop before he starts showing similarities to Rodgers’ game. 

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“He’s [Rodgers] doing a really good job right now of spitting it out,” Johnson said. “He’s accurate. I think our guy’s the same way, but we probably hold onto it a little bit more, just where we are in the offense. And as we’re learning and we’re growing, I think we’ll gravitate more toward getting it out faster the more reps we have. But yeah, the guy’s done it at a high level for a long time. It’s a good guy to look up to for a young quarterback.”

According to Next Gen Stats, time to throw (TT) “measures the average amount of time elapsed from the time of snap to throw on every pass attempt for a passer.” For quarterbacks with a minimum of 90 pass attempts, Rodgers ranks third in the NFL with a 2.64 (TT). Williams is the lowest-ranked quarterback with his 3.29 (TT), which is 35th in the league. 

A lot goes into this statistic, like route concepts, getting the ball out on time and avoiding sacks to extend plays, which Williams has done at an elite level. 

Johnson clearly understands that his second-year quarterback has to continue his overall progression, but getting the ball out quicker is something the Bears’ head coach values.

As for Williams, he values the opportunity to play Rodgers, one of the all-time greats, for the first time in his NFL career. 

“You always want their best out there,” Williams said. “He’s one of the best in the world, and he’s been one of the best in the world for however long he’s been in the league. You always want to go versus the best when you play. I’ll hopefully get to say what’s up to him, shake his hand after.”