Caleb Williams and C.J. Stroud haven’t seen each other since Week 2, when the Houston Texans’ second-year quarterback passed on some words of wisdom over to his Chicago Bears’ counterpart.
People, as per usual, took it out of context and made it a bigger deal because of the age gap. After all, Stroud was only one year into his NFL tenure and yet some assumed he was talking down to the quarterback who beat him out for the Heisman Trophy in 2022.
For the first time since Stroud told Williams to “stop taking so many hits,” the two met in public during a panel session hosted by the Manning brothers at the Fanatics Fest in New York City on Saturday. When asked if the third-year quarterback had any advice for the Bears’ top pick last season, Stroud cracked with a smile at the crowd.
“I don’t know if Caleb likes my advice,” Stroud joked, to which Williams laughed.
Stroud might not have much room to talk after being sacked 52 times, but he still wasn’t the league’s most hit quarterback. That title belongs to Williams, who was sacked 68 times over 17 games. Although a poor offensive line took much of the blame, the former No. 1 overall often needed to get rid of the ball, which is what Stroud meant after a Week 2 win on Sunday Night Football.
At the moment, Williams put it off. He had just thrown two late picks that cemented a 2-0 start for the Texans and cost the Bears a promising start. After eight months and a full offseason running the show for Ben Johnson’s revamped offensive system two young franchise quarterbacks can now laugh about the famous intercations.
Also, Stroud can say he was right for giving the advice since it led to the firing of a coach and a record-setting number of hits in Bears’ history against a quarterback.