You obviously know what this blog's about.
But for the five of you that aren't too Logged On for your own good, I'm not going to sugarcoat it – this is a tough one. It's going to sting a little. And the biggest bummer of all is that it comes on the heels of what's been, objectively, a great offseason for the Bears.
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Remember all that 'Caleb Williams is trying to force his way out of being drafted by the Bears' stuff that was floating around before the draft back in 2024? All those rumors that everyone quickly dismissed as pre-draft stock manipulation? Welllllllllll I hate to be the bearer (I'm sorry) of bad news (seriously), but that was all very real. It was real back then, but then it got very, very real again on Thursday. Like, he did not want to play for the Bears. So much so, in fact, that he had people around him questioning the constitutionality of the National Football League. Imagine hating your job so much that you try and take it up with the Supreme Court.
And perhaps the most depressing part in all of this is the fact that it's reported by ESPN's Seth Wickersham, which means it's absolutely true. 'He doesn't miss' is probably/definitely overused jargon at this point, but unfortunately Wickersham does not miss. The details are so juicy that they'll almost make you forget about how awkward things are going to get at OTAs next week.
ESPN's new report about Caleb Williams' attempts to avoid the Bears raises a ton of questions
"Quarterback Caleb Williams was so concerned about being picked by the Chicago Bears in 2024 that he and his family weighed blowing up the entire NFL draft, consulting with lawyers to figure out a way around the league's collective bargaining agreement while considering signing with the United Football League, details from a forthcoming book reveal ... Carl Williams went to great lengths to try to circumvent the NFL draft, Wickersham writes, wanting to give his son an opportunity to choose his future employer ... But Caleb was concerned that if they did try and the Bears refused to trade him, it would make a tough situation worse. In the end, Caleb Williams told Wickersham, "I wasn't ready to nuke the city."
I should mention that Williams deserves a ton of credit for not, as he puts it, nuking the city. No one outside of Chicago would have blamed him if he did. It worked out for Eli Manning. If we're all going to gossip about how much he hated the Bears before playing one snap for them – which we absolutely should – we should also commend him for taking the high road, even if that meant pretending to like Matt Eberflus for six months. That's longer than most of Bears Twitter could do it.
Now back to the gossip. Sports Parents, man. It's always something with them. In a weird way, I do appreciate being so invested in your son's success that you're willing to pay the retainer fees for constitutional lawyers, but Wickersham's story does lend some legitimacy to the theories that Carl Williams is perhaps a tiny bit too involved with his adult son's career.
Then again, if Williams' dad lit the first sparks in the End The NFL Draft revolution (he didn't) I can get behind that. But yeah – maybe next time 'Seth Wickersham' pops up on your phone, you let that one go to voicemail. The Bears are still back though.