Quarterback play hasn’t always been the Chicago Bears’ biggest strength, but heading into the 2026 NFL season, there is more stability at the position than Chicago fans have enjoyed in years. Caleb Williams enters his third NFL season after a breakout 2025 campaign in his first year with head coach Ben Johnson.
Williams started all 17 regular-season games in 2025, throwing for a franchise-record 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. More importantly, he helped lead Chicago to an NFC North championship and a playoff victory over the rival Green Bay Packers. With Williams returning as the Bears’ unquestioned starter in 2026, Chicago may finally have the long-term franchise quarterback it spent decades searching for.
Bears Starting Quarterbacks Timeline (2000-2026)
Successful NFL teams often benefit from stability at quarterback, something the Bears have struggled to find for much of the 21st century. Chicago has cycled through veterans, high draft picks, backups, and short-term starters since 2000.
Here are the quarterbacks who started at least one regular-season game for the Bears in each season:
- 2000: Cade McNown, Shane Matthews, and Jim Miller
- 2001: Jim Miller and Shane Matthews
- 2002: Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, and Henry Burris
- 2003: Kordell Stewart, Chris Chandler, and Rex Grossman
- 2004: Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Jonathan Quinn, and Rex Grossman
- 2005: Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman
- 2006: Rex Grossman
- 2007: Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, and Kyle Orton
- 2008: Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman
- 2009: Jay Cutler
- 2010: Jay Cutler and Todd Collins
- 2011: Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie, and Josh McCown
- 2012: Jay Cutler and Jason Campbell
- 2013: Jay Cutler and Josh McCown
- 2014: Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen
- 2015: Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen
- 2016: Matt Barkley, Jay Cutler, and Brian Hoyer
- 2017: Mitchell Trubisky and Mike Glennon
- 2018: Mitchell Trubisky and Chase Daniel
- 2019: Mitchell Trubisky and Chase Daniel
- 2020: Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles
- 2021: Justin Fields, Andy Dalton, and Nick Foles
- 2022: Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian, and Nathan Peterman
- 2023: Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent
- 2024: Caleb Williams
- 2025: Caleb Williams
- 2026: Caleb Williams enters the season as Chicago’s starting quarterback
Who Is the Chicago Bears Quarterback in 2026?
Caleb Williams is the Bears’ starting quarterback entering the 2026 NFL season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has started every regular-season game during his first two NFL seasons, giving him 34 consecutive starts heading into Year 3.
Williams took a major step forward during his first season in Ben Johnson’s offense in 2025. He completed 330 of 568 passes for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 388 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. His 3,942 passing yards established a new Bears single-season franchise record.
Chicago also enjoyed significantly more team success. The Bears won the NFC North and defeated Green Bay in the Wild Card round before their season ended against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional round.
Heading into 2026, Williams is no longer simply a young quarterback with potential. He has already produced one of the most successful passing seasons in Bears history and enters his second year in Johnson’s system looking to build on it.
How Many Starting Quarterbacks Have the Bears Had Since 2000?
Thirty different quarterbacks have started at least one regular-season game for the Chicago Bears since 2000. That number remains unchanged entering the 2026 season because Caleb Williams started every game in both 2024 and 2025 and returns as Chicago’s starter.
Williams’ durability has already created a level of continuity that had been difficult for the franchise to maintain. The Bears used multiple starting quarterbacks in 18 of the 24 seasons from 2000 through 2023. They have now gone two consecutive seasons without needing another quarterback to start a regular-season game.
The Bears quarterbacks with the most regular-season starts since 2000 include:
- Jay Cutler: 102 starts from 2009-2016
- Mitchell Trubisky: 50 starts from 2017-2020
- Justin Fields: 38 starts from 2021-2023
- Caleb Williams: 34 starts from 2024-2025
- Kyle Orton: 33 starts in 2005, 2007, and 2008
- Rex Grossman: 31 starts from 2003-2008
- Jim Miller: 23 starts from 2000-2002
Williams could continue climbing that list quickly. If he starts a full 17-game schedule in 2026, he would move past Fields and Trubisky and into second place behind Cutler among Bears quarterbacks since 2000.
Best Chicago Bears Quarterbacks of All Time
The Bears’ history stretches back more than a century, and several quarterbacks have played important roles in the franchise’s biggest moments. While rankings are always subjective, these five players have especially strong cases among the best Bears quarterbacks ever.
5. Ed Brown
Ed Brown played quarterback for the Bears from 1954 through 1961 and earned two Pro Bowl selections during his time in Chicago. His best statistical season came in 1956, when he led the NFL in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating.
Brown also helped lead Chicago to the 1956 NFL Championship Game. His statistics may look modest compared with modern quarterbacks, but passing offenses were dramatically different during his era.
4. Bill Wade
Bill Wade played for Chicago from 1961 through 1966 and helped lead one of the most important teams in Bears history.
Wade guided the Bears to the 1963 NFL Championship, scoring both of Chicago’s touchdowns himself in the championship victory over the New York Giants. He finished his Bears career with 68 touchdown passes and earned a Pro Bowl selection during his time in Chicago.
3. Jim McMahon
Few Bears quarterbacks are more closely associated with winning than Jim McMahon. He played in Chicago from 1982 through 1988 and served as the quarterback of the legendary 1985 Bears.
Chicago went undefeated in the games McMahon started during the 1985 regular season and postseason, culminating in a dominant victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Injuries prevented McMahon from compiling the career statistics of some other quarterbacks, but his personality, toughness, and connection to the greatest Bears team of the Super Bowl era make him a franchise icon.
2. Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler was the Bears’ primary starting quarterback from 2009 through 2016 and remains the franchise’s career leader in several major passing categories.
Cutler finished his Bears career with 23,443 passing yards and 154 touchdown passes, both franchise records. He made 102 regular-season starts for Chicago and helped lead the Bears to the NFC Championship Game following the 2010 season.
Caleb Williams has already broken the team’s single-season passing-yardage record, but he still has considerable ground to cover before approaching Cutler’s career totals.
1. Sid Luckman
Sid Luckman’s importance to Bears history is difficult to overstate. Playing for Chicago from 1939 through 1950, Luckman helped revolutionize the quarterback position during the early days of the modern passing game.
Luckman won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award in 1943 and was part of four Bears championship teams. He also led the NFL in passing yards three times and passing touchdowns three times while earning multiple All-Pro honors.
More than 75 years after his final Bears season, Luckman remains one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in franchise history.
Where Does Caleb Williams Rank Among Bears Quarterbacks?
It may still be too early to put Caleb Williams ahead of players who built lengthy careers or won championships with the Bears, but his first two seasons have already changed the conversation.
Williams enters 2026 with 7,483 career passing yards and 47 touchdown passes through his first 34 regular-season games. His 2025 season produced a franchise-record 3,942 passing yards, an NFC North championship, and a playoff victory.
If Williams continues producing at that level, he could quickly begin climbing the Bears’ all-time passing lists. More importantly for Chicago fans, he has an opportunity to provide something the franchise has rarely enjoyed in the modern era: a long-term answer at quarterback.
Who Is the Most Famous Chicago Bears Quarterback?
There isn’t one definitive answer to the question of the most famous Bears quarterback.
Sid Luckman has perhaps the strongest historical resume, winning four NFL championships and an MVP award. Jim McMahon remains one of the franchise’s most recognizable personalities because of his role on the iconic 1985 Bears. Jay Cutler played more games and threw for more yards and touchdowns than any other Bears quarterback.
Caleb Williams has now joined that conversation for a new generation of fans. As a former No. 1 overall draft pick who has already set a franchise passing record and led Chicago to a division championship and playoff victory, Williams has become one of the most prominent players on the current Bears roster.
Where he ultimately ranks in Bears history will depend on what comes next.
Watch Bears Games at Pequod’s Pizza
A new Bears season means another fall of Sundays spent watching Chicago football, and Pequod’s Pizza is a great place to experience game day with other Bears fans.
Grab your friends, settle in for the game, and enjoy Pequod’s famous caramelized-crust pan pizza while watching Caleb Williams and the Bears take the field. Whether you’re following Chicago’s latest quarterback chapter from our Chicago or Morton Grove location, there aren’t many combinations more Chicago than Bears football and deep-dish pizza.
Use our table request tool to make a reservation for an upcoming game. You can also order frozen Pequod’s for delivery throughout the U.S. and Canada if you’re watching the Bears from home.
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