Caleb Williams
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Quarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Now heading into Year 2, all eyes are on quarterback Caleb Williams.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft for the Chicago Bears showed plenty of flashes during his rookie season, breaking multiple franchise records. But not everyone has been impressed.
Former Bears legend Dan Hampton has been one of Williams’ harshest critics, questioning whether the young signal-caller has the toughness and leadership skills to succeed in Chicago. It’s the kind of old-school criticism Williams has grown accustomed to receiving, fair or not.
On the August 31 episode of the “Hamp & O’B” podcast, which Hampton co-hosts along with former Bears DB Ed O’Bradovich, the two discussed Chicago’s offseason and looked ahead to preview the team’s 2025 regular season.
When discussing the Bears’ preseason in particular, O’Bradovich and Hampton took umbrage with the way Williams and other starters took their uniforms off when they were done playing.
Dan Hampton Says Caleb Williams Was ‘Disrespectful’ During 2025 Preseason
Referencing All-Pro QBs Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, whose teams both faced the Bears during the preseason, O’Bradovich noted that Mahomes and Allen both stayed in uniform throughout all four quarters of their respective matchups. He was rankled by the fact that Williams and some of his teammates didn’t do the same.
“If you take a look at our quarterback, if you take a look at our guys … They’re in t-shirts and sunglasses,” O’Bradovich said. “To me, that is disrespectful to your teammates and the many, many great Chicago Bear fans. Who the hell do you guys think you are? How dare you? You’ve got the MVP of the league, kept his uniform on out of respect for his teammates.”
Hampton agreed.
“You hit it, it’s disrespectful,” Hampton added. “It is a football team, 53 men for a single purpose — and certain players aren’t given options to wear different types of, you know, attire. I didn’t like it. And I think in the future, we won’t see that. But you are dead on.”
Williams Played Relatively Well as a Rookie Considering the Duress He Was Under
Williams’ rookie campaign was a mixed bag. He started all 17 games, throwing for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions.
He set Bears rookie records in passing attempts (562), completions (351) and total offense (4,030 yards). At one point, he threw 353 consecutive passes without an interception, one of the longest streaks by a rookie in NFL history. He was also sacked 68 times.
Williams went through a great deal last year, as Chicago fired both his offensive coordinator (Shane Waldron) and his head coach (Matt Eberflus). The Bears responded by hiring Ben Johnson, one of the league’s brightest offensive minds, to get Williams on track.
Johnson has already set a clear standard, telling reporters he wants to see his quarterback complete 70% of his passes this year.
Hampton Isn’t the Only NFL Analyst Worrying About Caleb’s Clothes
While his play has drawn its share of fair scrutiny — as it should — Williams has also been the target of some pretty bizarre and unfair criticism off the field. In addition to Hampton and O’Bradovich, ESPN analyst Sam Acho knocked him for wearing his socks “halfway down,” during the preseason, suggesting it was sloppy and a bad look for a leader.
The harshest criticisms seem to come in the form of thinly veiled shots at his personality and wardrobe, with detractors calling him soft or overly concerned with appearances.
But at the end of the day, Williams’s success won’t be defined by what he wears or how he wears it. It’ll be defined by what he does on the field — and if he can make the Bears winners again, he’ll silence a large swath of the doubters for good.