Bears Sign Chris Williams, Rex Grossman Named the Starter ... for the Day

The Chicago Bears 2008 season couldn't have gotten off to a better start if it was scripted: first-round pick Chris Williams has signed with the team, and in even more important news, quarterback Rex Grossman has been named the starter through a complex evaluation process (explained below).

Williams, the guy likely responsible for protecting Grossman's blind side, inked a five-year, $16 million deal, including $10 million in guaranteed dough. Assuming he wins the starting left tackle job, Williams will be one of the few bright spots on an offense that's expected to struggle this season.

But maybe the Bears coaching staff knows something about Grossman that the rest of us don't. Or maybe we shouldn't read too much into the whole "Grossman's the starter!" nonsense since, you know, it's only temporary:

Grossman has won the starting quarterback job -- for the first day of practice. There was a coin toss at a Wednesday morning quarterback meeting. Kyle Orton called it, but Grossman won it and will run with the first-team offense Wednesday.

Orton didn't seem too hurt. "We will get the same number of reps," he said. A coin toss won't be used daily, offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. The quarterbacks with alternate from now until the end of camp as they battle for the starting job.

So it's still an open quarterback competition. I don't have much faith in either Grossman or Orton, but maybe Devin Hester will somehow win the job. He's certainly good at avoiding oncoming defenders, which is a pretty important part of the gig.