Caleb Williams wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room on Wednesday.
“I wanted to come here and be the guy and be a part and be a reason why the Chicago Bears turn this thing around,” Williams told reporters.
A new book from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham that’s set to publish in September dropped a bombshell report that Williams’ family went to “great lengths” to stop the Bears from drafting the quarterback in 2024. Wickersham spoke to Williams’ father, Carl Williams, about his son’s lack on interest in Chicago.
“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl said.
The family even tried to figure out if it were possible to get around the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. But a pre-draft visit with the Bears changed Williams’ mind about the Bears, and he was confident it was where he wanted to be.
“That last thing that was said in all of that I think is the most important thing is that I wanted to be here,” Williams said Wednesday. “I love being here.”
Carl’s concern for his son — according to Wickersham — came from the Bears failing to draft a star quarterback since the 1980s. Recent draftees Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields — who both had high expectations — didn’t work out in Chicago.
Williams, though, said he shut his dad down “quite a bit.”
“He cares so much about me and my future, and we have been along this journey so long together, all he wants is the best for me,” he said.
Now with that out of the way, Williams is focused on improving on a 5-12 rookie season that saw the quarterback throw for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns.
“We’re focused on the present, we’re focused on now,” he said. “We’re focused on trying to get this ship moving in the right direction.”