Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has finally broken his silence about the recent report that he sought to avoid playing for the Bears during the pre-draft process in 2024, aiming to clear the air about several misunderstandings.
On May 15, ESPN published a promotional article for the upcoming book release of one of its reporters, Seth Wickersham, and featured several details about Williams and how he and his father, Carl, navigated the pre-draft process during the 2024 NFL offseason.
The report alleged Williams — the eventual No. 1 overall pick — had so many concerns about the Bears drafting him that he and his family had discussed ways to potentially circumvent the NFL draft process and spoke with lawyers about their other options.
In his first comments about the matter, though, Williams downplayed his pre-draft efforts to avoid playing for the Bears and described them simply as “ideas” that he and his father discussed throughout the pre-draft process. He also indicated his reported interest in playing for the Minnesota Vikings instead of the Bears was overblown.
“The most important thing is that I wanted to be here,” Williams said Wednesday, “that I love being here, that I love my teammates and I love all of the people that got me here — family, friends, Ryan [Poles], Kevin [Warren], [Matt Eberflus] and Shane [Waldron] and all of those guys who went through that process with me to get me here.”
Caleb Williams Explains Visit With Minnesota Vikings
One of the details that stood out most to Bears fans from ESPN’s write-up about Wickersham’s book is that Williams took a visit with the Vikings during the pre-draft process and emerged from it “dreaming of what it would be like to play for Minnesota.”
“I need to go to the Vikings,” Williams told his father, via Wickersham.
What Williams wants everyone to understand about his interest in the Vikings, though, is that everything changed for him after he took his top-30 visit with the Bears. After he visited with the organization, he decided firmly that he wanted to play in Chicago.
Here is what Williams said about it during Wednesday’s press conference:
“Something that keeps getting lost, something that keeps getting not addressed the way it needs to be, is the fact that I went on that visit [to Minnesota] first, came here [to Chicago], and then after I came here, I went back home and talked to my dad. And all of the things that were supposed to be these big things [in Wickersham’s book] that everybody’s been talking about recently … [they] never happened in the sense of they were all thoughts, they were all ideas.
“I think if you’re in the situation [I was] … I think you think about all of the options and you look at the history and the facts and all of these things. All of those were thoughts. And then after I came on my visit here, it was a deliberate and determined answer that I had that I wanted to come here.”
Will Caleb Williams Become a 4,000-Yard Passer in 2025?
After a tiresome two weeks of old-head NFL quarterbacks complaining about Williams and rage-baiting analysts criticizing his pre-draft process, the Bears’ No. 1 quarterback has done his part to put the story behind him and turn the focus back to the present.
For Bears fans, that is a relief. While certain details surely bothered some of them, most fans showed understanding for Williams’ thought process and initial hesitation about playing in Chicago. After all, they know better than most how many times the franchise has self-sabotaged with its drafted quarterbacks and fallen short of lofty expectations.
Now, the collective Chicago Bears fanbase can turn its attention back to asking more important questions, such as: have the Bears done enough to help Williams in his second season and put him in a position to become their first 4,000-yard passer?
From the perspective of roster- and staff-building, the Bears seem to have aced the offseason’s biggest tests. They landed their big fish at head coach in Ben Johnson, an offensive-minded leader whom they believe can help elevate Williams’ overall game.
The Bears also heavily invested in getting Williams more help. They overhauled their offensive line, adding three new veteran interior starters and a second-round rookie left tackle (Ozzy Trapilo) who could potentially push for the starting job. They also picked up new playmakers in tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III.
If Williams makes the necessary improvements in his game from his rookie season, he has a strong enough foundation in place to make history for the franchise in 2025.
