Caleb Williams to Chicago almost never happened, according to ESPN's Seth Wickersham in his upcoming book. Wickersham spoke to FOX 32 about how how it all ended with Williams in Chicago.
When the Chicago Bears got an extra offseason session because of their first-year head coach, quarterback Caleb Williams took time to reflect on the road he took long traveled.That road included a 5-12 record, a 10-game losing streak and the fears his father, Carl Williams, had coming true.
There Caleb stood, at the podium in Halas Hall, speaking about the excitement he harbored for the future of the team."Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did – ups and downs," Williams said in early April. "Then to be able to come in here as confident as I was last year or possibly even more. To be able to get here with the group that we have. I really can't wait to get to work with these guys."That future almost never happened, according to ESPN Senior Writer Seth Wickersham, who wrote in his upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," about the months leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.According to Wickersham, who spoke to FOX 32 on Thursday, the Williams family was concerned about playing for the Bears, who have a long history with quarterbacks. Not much of that history is successful.In the book, ESPN reported how Wickersham detailed the attempts Carl Williams, Caleb's father, made to try and go around the NFL Draft process.It's not something without precedent in the NFL. No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 Draft John Elway finagled his way out of playing for the Baltimore Colts; No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 Draft Eli Manning helped usher a trade from the Chargers to the Giants. Wickersham wrote about how Carl Williams spoke with Archie Manning, who helped his son Eli Manning usher a trade from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Giants after being selected No. 1 overall. The book also says Williams had meetings with labor lawyers and agents to weigh different options.The book even said there was consideration of whether Caleb could sign with the United Football League, which would allow him to become an unrestricted NFL free agent in 2025 and pick a team. The big reasons behind these concerns were because of former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and former head coach Matt Eberflus, who hadn't found success in Chicago, the Bears' history with quarterbacks, which included failures to develop Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields.Wickersham told FOX 32 the Williams family came close to trying to force Caleb's way out of playing for the Bears in a way similar to how Elway forced his way out playing for the Colts. Then, Elway made the situation so unbearable and toxic the Colts had no choice but to trade him. That didn't happen with Caleb.A reason why was because Caleb didn't have the same leverage that Elway had. In 1983, Elway was also a star baseball player and was clear he'd opt to play baseball instead of playing for the Colts. Caleb didn't have that leverage. Caleb also didn't want to force his way out of Chicago by any means necessary and devastate the town like Elway eventually did in Baltimore.So, Caleb went on his visits to Chicago. Wickersham said those meetings reinforced the Bears would be selecting him no matter what. The meetings also reinforced the idea that Caleb could turn the Bears around and be the hero they've never had at quarterback.That convinced Caleb. When he roared at the 2024 NFL Draft after being selected No. 1 overall, Wickersham said, it was genuine.Now, Caleb wants to star in Chicago. Caleb is a Bear. Carl's worst fears came true with a dismal first year in Chicago where Caleb was sacked a league-leading 68 times. FOX 32 reached out to the Bears, who declined comment.It wasn't Caleb's fault.In his rookie year, Caleb threw 20 touchdowns, six interceptions, 3,541 yards and had a 62.5 completion percentage. The last time the Bears had a quarterback throw at cleat 20 touchdowns and less than 10 interceptions was Rudy Bukich in 1965.Now, Caleb has one of the preeminent offensive minds in the NFL as his head coach, who helped re-shape the Bears' offensive line and gave him weapons to be successful now and in the future. Caleb understands why his role is so important, too."I think us growing together is key starting now. Him pushing me is key," Williams said. "I know that he knows that, him pushing me because as he said before, it's a QB driven league. Being able to have that position right on every team. That's why that position is so important in the draft or people trying to get the QBs in this day and age of the game – I would say is because it's so QB-driven."Johnson understands this, especially knowing how he took over a Bears' team that struggled to find success in 2024."When the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes, how do we respond to it?" Johnson said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.It's also why Johnson responded to the ESPN story about Wickersham's findings with what he knows now."I see a chance for greatness here for him. I feel the same way," Johnson said. "I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he's really proud to be a Chicago Bear."
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