Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) warms up during the first half of a 2025 preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chicago Bears are infamous at this point for how much trouble they've had identifying a franchise quarterback. They are the only team in the league without a 4,000-yard passer and, in recent years, missed on high-profile draft choices such as Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields in hopes of finding a long-term solution under center.

But as the 2025 NFL regular season gets underway, the Bears remain hopeful that 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams is the answer to this decades-long quest. The former Heisman Trophy had a rocky rookie season that featured encouraging stats, a 10-game losing streak, a coaching change and reports that Williams tried to avoid being picked by Chicago because of its poor reputation working with quarterbacks.

Any concerns were justified based on history. The Bears have used 43 different starting quarterbacks in the 40 years since Jim McMahon was the colorful character leading Chicago to its only Super Bowl during the 1985 season. Williams was just the fourth quarterback during that time span to start every game in a season. Only Trubisky in the 2018 season has been named to the Pro Bowl as a quarterback for the Bears since McMahon accomplished the feat during the 1985 season.

Perhaps Williams is the one to end the trend. There is renewed hope that he is better set up for success ahead of the Bears' season debut with new coach Ben Johnson on "Monday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings.

With that in mind, USA TODAY Sports subjectively ranked all the quarterbacks who have started at least 10 games for the Bears in the past 40 years. The list certainly isn't a who's who of passing leaders, but it also means Williams is positioned to move close to the top if he were to improve on his rookie campaign and lead the Bears to the playoffs in 2025.

Chicago Bears starting QB rankings (since 1985)

*Minimum 10 career starts for the Bears; stats only reflect seasons in which QB started for Bears

  1. Jay Cutler: 112 games started (51-51 record), 1 playoff appearance (went to 2010 NFC championship game), 23,443 passing yards, 154 TDs, 109 INTs, 61.8% passing, 49.9 QBR, 85.2 QB rating
  2. Jim Harbaugh: 65 games started (35-30 record), 1 playoff appearance (lost 1991 wild-card game), 11,505 passing yards, 50 TDs, 56 INTs, 58.1% passing, 74.1 QB rating
  3. Mitch Trubisky: 50 games started (29-21 record), 2 playoff appearances (lost wild card games in 2018 and 2020), 10,609 yards, 64 TDs, 37 INTs, 64.0%, 33.3 QBR, 87.2 QB rating
  4. Erik Kramer: 46 games started (18-28 record), 1 playoff appearance (lost 1994 divisional round), 10,582 passing yards, 63 TDs, 45 INTs, 58.6% passing, 80.7 QB rating
  5. Kyle Orton: 33 games started (21-12 record), no playoff appearances, 5,319 passing yards, 30 TDs, 27 INTS, 55.3% passing, 71.1 QB rating
  6. Rex Grossman: 31 games started (19-12 record), 2 playoff appearances (lost in 2005 divisional round, lost in Super Bowl XLI), 6,164 passing yards, 33 TDs, 35 INTs, 54.2% passing, 70.2 QB rating
  7. Steve Walsh: 11 games started (8-3 record), 1 playoff appearance (lost in 1994 divisional round), 2,078 passing yards, 10 TDs, 8 INTs, 60.6% passing, QB rating 77.9
  8. Jim Miller: 26 games started (15-11 record), 1 playoff appearance (lost in 2001 divisional round), 5,867 passing yards, 34 TDs, 26 INTs, 58.5% passing, 76.7 QB rating
  9. Mike Tomczak: 31 games started (21-10 record), 2 playoff appearances (including win in 1988 divisional round) 6,214 passing yards, 33 TDs, 47 INTs, 49.7% passing, 62.6 QB rating
  10. Caleb Williams: 17 games started (5-12 record), no playoff appearances, 3,541 yards, 20 TDs, 6 INTs, 62.5%, 43.3 QBR, 87.8 QB rating
  11. Justin Fields: 38 games started (10-28 record), no playoff appearances, 6,674 passing yards, 40 TDs, 30 INTs, 60.3%, 31.4 QBR, 82.3 QB rating
  12. Dave Krieg: 12 games started (6-6 record), no playoff appearances, 2,278 passing yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs, 59.9% passing, QB rating 76.3
  13. Shane Matthews: 15 games started (8-7 record), 1 playoff appearance (lost in 2001 divisional round), 3,303 passing yards, 18 TDs, 18 INTs, 60.7% passing, 73.7 QB rating
  14. Chris Chandler: 13 games (5-8 record), no playoff appearances, 2,073 passing yards, 7 TDs, 11 INTs, 59.5% passing, 69.8 QB rating
  15. Cade McNown: 15 games started (3-12 record), no playoff appearances, 3,111 passing yards, 16 TDs, 19 INTs, 54.6% passing, 67.7 QB rating

Other Bears starting QBs since 1985: Nick Foles (8 games), Josh McCown (7), Steve Stenstrom (7), Kordell Stewart (7), Matt Barkley (7), Andy Dalton (6), Brian Griese (6), Brian Hoyer (5), Chad Hutchinson (5), Craig Krenzel (5), Tyson Bagent (4), Mike Glennon (4), Caleb Hanie (4), Chase Daniel (3), Jonathan Quinn (3), Rick Mirer (3), Peter Tom Willis (3), Jimmy Clausen (2), Steve Fuller (2), Mike Hohensee (2), Henry Burris (1), Jason Campbell (1), Todd Collins (1), Doug Flutie (1), Will Furrer (1), Moses Moreno (1), Nathan Peterman (1), Trevor Siemian (1)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Every Bears starting QB since 1985 ranked, from Caleb Williams to Jay Cutler

Reporting by Mark Giannotto, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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