The Chicago Bears addressed the elephant in the room on Wednesday.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will return to Soldier Field for the first time since 2022 on Sunday when he comes into town with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rodgers, the former Green Bay Packer rival who once yelled “I own you” to Bears fans in the stands during a game, and the Steelers don’t know if he’ll play this weekend after he broke his wrist in his non-throwing hand Sunday.

But the Bears didn’t shy away from the challenge of playing Rodgers if he’s healthy.

“You always want their best out there and 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,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said Wednesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “You always want to go versus the best when you play and hopefully get to say what’s up to him and shake his hand out there.”

To say that Rodgers owned the rivalry with the Bears during his time with the Packers would be an understatement. Rodgers holds a 24-5 overall record against the Bears in his career. At Soldier Field, Rodgers is 11-3, which includes a win over Chicago in the NFC Championship in January of 2011.

Rodgers last played against the Bears in Soldier Field on Dec. 4, 2022, when the Packers won 28-19 in his last season in Green Bay. He threw for 182 yards and one touchdown in the win.

The Bears likely won’t see the same vintage Rodgers that Bears fans dreaded if he does play Sunday. He signed with the Steelers over the offseason after spending two seasons with the New York Jets. He’s thrown for 1,969 yards, 19 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 66.4% completion rate, with most of those passes being shorter passes.

Although Rodgers is now 41, the Bears still believe Rodgers can do the things that made him a most valuable player in his prime.

“He’s still doing it at a very high level,” Bears safety Kevin Byard said. “His arm talent obviously is still there. He’s so smart, he knows where to go with the ball on every single snap. And it’s funny because even though he’s in Year 20 he’s still doing a really good job of escaping the pocket. It’s hard to really sack him. Everybody on this defense and this team wants to play Aaron Rodgers.”

Sunday would be a fun opportunity for Williams if Rodgers does end up playing. Williams grew up idolizing Rodgers and the way he played the game. He said there are few quarterbacks in the world that can spin the ball the way Rodgers does and place it in different spots both on the run or in the pocket.

There are some lessons Bears head coach Ben Johnson thought Williams could take from his idol. Rodgers’ ability to get the ball out quickly to his receivers at different points in the field made him difficult to defend throughout his career.

Johnson believes Williams is as accurate with the ball as Rodgers is. But he wants Williams to follow Rodgers’ pattern of spitting the ball out.

“As we’re learning and we’re growing, I think we’ll gravitate more toward getting it out faster the more reps we have,” Johnson said. “But yeah, the guy’s done it, like I said, at a high level for a long time. It’s a good guy to look up to for a young quarterback.”

Sunday would be the first time Williams would play against Rodgers in his career. Williams is 1-1 against the Packers after he led a fourth-quarter game-winning drive to end last season in Green Bay.

But Williams didn’t want to look too much into playing Rodgers even though he looked forward to the potential matchup.

“It would be cool,” Williams said. “For me, I’m not getting into the mindset of anything other than it’s just another matchup, and then after the game you obviously you give him his kudos and ask for any advice or anything like that. But during the game and before the game. it’s us battling verse each other and going to war and trying to be 1-0 for our teams.”

Rodgers missed practice Wednesday as he rehabbed his broken wrist. He told reporters Wednesday that he’s hopeful to practice Thursday and wants to play Sunday. Though he’ll follow the Steelers medical team’s advice on whether to play.

“You always want their best out there and 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 and hopefully get to say what’s up to him and shake his hand out there.”

—  Caleb Williams

But there’s little doubt how much Sunday would mean for Rodgers, the Bears and Bears fans. Sunday will likely be the last time Rodgers would play at Soldier Field.

All parties want to get the last laugh.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers,” Johnson said. “He’s done this at a high level for an incredible amount of time and if he’s ready to go this week, I would love nothing more to compete against him.”