LAKE FOREST, Ill., — In the months leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, there were reports and rumors of USC quarterback Caleb Williams and his camp being concerned about the Chicago Bears holding the No. 1 pick in the draft. Chicago had their eyes set on Williams to be their franchise quarterback but for a period of time, it didn't feel the same for Williams' camp.
Now, over a year later those concerns are coming to light in a new book by ESPN's Seth Wickersham titled "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback".
Wickersham reveals in the book that Williams was so concerned about being picked by the Chicago Bears in 2024 that he and his family explored options. Those options included circumventing 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.
Here is part of what Wickersham details in the book set to release this September:
"Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Carl Williams, Caleb's father, told Seth Wickersham, author of "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," in the months before the 2024 draft.
Caleb Williams wondered aloud to confidants: "Do I want to go there? I don't think I can do it with [former Bears offensive coordinator Shane] Waldron."
The concerns were valid and proven to be true as the season went on. Chicago fired Waldron in November after the team had a 4-5 record and were on a three-game losing streak. He lasted just 10 months as the offensive coordinator and in nine games they averaged 277.6 yards per game, third-fewest in the league. Weeks later, the Bears did something they had not previously done in franchise history, firing head coach Matt Eberflus.
It was a turbulent rookie season for Williams as the Bears struggled to close out games, losing on a Hail Mary to Washington and then letting the time run out on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions which would be the end of the Eberflus era. There is even a portion of the book where Williams admits that he had to do film study on his own with no guidance from the coaching staff, showing just how bad it was inside Halas Hall with the previous coaching staff.
The book isn't all negative, however.
Williams didn't take it to the level of refusing to play for the Bears and instead believed he could turn this franchise around as Wickersham writes:
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."
After a predraft visit to the Bears facility, Williams believed he could be part of a process to turn the franchise around.
"I can do it for this team," Caleb told his dad. "I'm going to go to the Bears."
The Bears have a new coaching staff in place for Williams this offseason and have invested heavily in the quarterback by fixing the offensive line, drafting skill position players on the offense and bringing in a coaching staff to help him succeed.
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