Caleb Williams has publicly, officially, once and for all, debunked any rumors, reports, murmurings and mumblings that he does not want to play for Chicago Bears.
On Friday, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick was asked about the opportunity to play in Chicago. He pointed to the team’s 7-10 record last season as proof positive that going to the Bears would give him a better infrastructure than most No. 1 QBs enjoy.
“That’s pretty good for a team that has the first pick,” Williams said. “They’ve got a good defense. They’ve got good players on offense. It’s pretty exciting if you can go into a situation like that.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Typically QBs selected with the No. 1 overall pick end up on terrible teams. If a team is so bad that they find themselves atop the draft, and are in the market for a new quarterback, it almost always signals an organization is headed in the wrong direction. That’s why they need to switch things up.
That’s not the case with the Bears. They have the No. 1 overall pick because the Panthers were terrible in 2023. The Bears are considered a team on the rise with a promising defense and several key players in place on offense, like DJ Moore, Darnell Wright and Cole Kmet. That infrastructure would help any rookie quarterback to make the transition into the NFL.
Williams’ excitement to play for the Bears goes beyond that infrastructure. He told Pete Thamel in an interview published on Wednesday that he’s heard about Chicago’s dedicated fans. He’s watched videos of Michael Jordan and Walter Payton and come to learn how they’ve become deified in the city.
"I'm 22. I didn't really get to see those players," Williams told Thamel. "As the saying goes, the legends live on. That's my goal of playing football -- it's not money, it's not fame ... it's to be immortal. I want to reach that sense of being a legend. Being at the table ... and having a rightful seat through hard work and energy and time I've put into this game that we all love.
NFL
"It's appealing to be in a city like that. With legends that you've looked up to ... reach for the standard they set and try to do anything to get there."
Over the past several months we’ve heard several reports that Williams didn’t want to play for the Bears. In some cases those reports were walked back. In most cases, the reports and rumors took off on social media. Now we know those reports were almost certainly overblown.