Caleb Williams was the most recent guest on the Kelce Brothers' podcast "New Heights" to discuss a variety of topics. The quarterback spoke on his Madden cover, OTA's so far, last season, and more with Travis and Jason Kelce.
But one topic that came up was Williams' spectacular throws and how he keeps plays alive.
That's when the quarterback pointed to his second sport growing up, crediting swimming for getting his legs strong. It's very common to see some of the great NFL quarterbacks with strong arms be successful in baseball. John Elway, Patrick Mahomes,Tom Brady, and Russell Wilson all had baseball backgrounds growing up. For Williams, the interesting part was the sport he credited for helping his arm strength. It's one of the non-football-related traditional sports you'd think of: swimming.
Williams mentioned that he was a swimmer growing up, in addition to playing baseball and soccer.
"My second sport is swimming, oddly enough," Williams said. "All the power and rotation. You obviously build a bunch of strength through the legs, but also just the rotation and the strength from the upper body from it (swimming)."
This, as mentioned, is not one of the traditional sports most quarterbacks would mention as helping their ability to be a quarterback. But when you think about how mobile Williams is, how much arm strength he has, and the different arm slots he has, you can see where swimming can benefit him (and others) who throw the football. Swimming not only helps with arm strength and mobility, but it also helps with core rotation and lung capacity. Both of these can help benefit someone who is an elite athlete like Williams.
Williams has a lot to build off of a magical second season that was filled with a ton of comeback victories. After leading the Bears to several improbable victories, some ridiculous throws, and earning the face of the newest cover of Madden, Williams will have a ton to live up to going into year three. But the past has proven that Williams will put in the work ethic needed to succeed. That should be good news for the Bears.
Not a VIP subscriber to the Bear Report? Sign up now to get access to everything publisher Zack Pearson and the entire Bear Report team have to offer on all things Chicago Bears and access to the No. 1 site covering the team!