{"id":54437,"date":"2025-05-16T09:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T09:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/54437\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T09:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T09:54:13","slug":"caleb-williams-father-tried-to-keep-bears-from-drafting-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/54437\/","title":{"rendered":"Caleb Williams, father tried to keep Bears from drafting him"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;width:100%;height:100%;z-index:2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/78037104007-usatsi-24868435.jpg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/icon-play-alt-white.svg.svg+xml\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Rome Odunze shares hopes for Ben Johnson as Bears new head coach<\/p>\n<p>Chicago Bears star player Rome Odunze talks his excitement ahead of next season. He also talks about his partnership with Sharpie.<\/p>\n<p>Former USC <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/ncaaf\/teams\/usc-trojans\/3467\/\" data-autotag=\"81fae7eb-4e49-4588-8ac1-4c9c113221de\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trojans<\/a> quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/players\/caleb-williams\/1286445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Caleb Williams<\/a> was a lock for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft for months.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/chicago-bears\/326\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Chicago Bears<\/a> followed through on that expectation, making Williams the franchise&#8217;s first No. 1 overall pick since 1947.<\/p>\n<p>New information reveals the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/chicago-bears\/326\" data-autotag=\"69c69e75-f807-4542-90d2-619e6d4a23b1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bears<\/a> caused concern in Williams&#8217; family about his future.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN writer Seth Wickersham&#8217;s latest book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/789617\/american-kings-by-seth-wickersham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">&#8220;American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,&#8221;<\/a> will be released later in 2025. It shows readers what playing quarterback demands at the high school, college, and NFL levels as well as what it&#8217;s like after a player retires.<\/p>\n<p>Excerpts on Williams have shined a light on his pre-draft process and rookie season.<\/p>\n<p>Williams&#8217; father Carl,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/45161794\/caleb-williams-sought-way-going-chicago-bears\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">reportedly told Wickersham,<\/a> &#8220;Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die&#8221; ahead of the draft. Carl told several agents in 2024 that he did not want his son playing for the Bears.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[Williams is] worried about me taking bullets,&#8221; Carl told Wickersham, per reports. &#8220;I don&#8217;t care. I just don&#8217;t agree with this s&#8212;, you know? I&#8217;m more interested in making sure that he can do what he wants to do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\">Bears schedule 2025: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/2025\/05\/12\/chicago-bears-2025-schedule-record-predictions\/83474237007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chicago win-loss record predictions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He reportedly commented to Wickersham that &#8220;the rookie cap is just unconstitutional&#8221; and the current NFL collective bargaining agreement is the &#8220;worst piece of s&#8212; I&#8217;ve ever read. It&#8217;s the worst in sports history.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The family reportedly looked into potential ways Williams could circumvent the draft entirely and instead sign with a United Football League team for a year before joining the NFL as a free agent in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>However, after visiting the Bears&#8217; facility prior to the draft, Williams told his father he could be a part of the change in the franchise.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to the Bears,&#8221; he reportedly told Carl.<\/p>\n<p>Wickersham&#8217;s book also includes parts of Williams&#8217; rookie season with Chicago that saw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/bears\/2024\/11\/29\/matt-eberflus-fired-chicago-bears-thomas-brown\/76657952007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">coach Matt Eberflus fired mid-season<\/a>, a first for the franchise. Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\">Bears 2025 schedule: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/2025\/05\/14\/chicago-bears-schedule-2025-dates-games-predictions\/83578120007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Games, dates, predictions for upcoming season<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Williams reportedly would watch film alone without help from coaches or other staff members.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one tells me what to watch,&#8221; Williams told Carl. &#8220;I just turn it on.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Bears hired one of the most sought-after coaches in the 2025 offseason, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/bears\/2025\/01\/20\/ben-johnson-chicago-bears-detroit-lions\/77839671007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/bearswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/bears\/2025\/01\/22\/bears-hire-ben-johnson-caleb-williams-reaction\/77846499007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Williams has been an outspoken supporter of the move<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He said he was driving when he heard the news and \u201clet out a loud scream of excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Caleb Williams said he let out a loud yell \/ scream when he got the call that Ben Johnson would be his next head coach. Says the move brings immediate clarity to the offseason.<br \/>Loved his convo w\/ Ben:<br \/>Structure<br \/>No Nonsense<br \/>Holding me accountable<br \/>Us being on the same wavelength <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eZOZD44uUs\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/eZOZD44uUs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StaceyDales\/status\/1882129152486351305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chicago will open the season in a <a href=\"https:\/\/bearswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/bears\/2025\/05\/14\/bears-week-1-vikings-monday-night-football\/83623600007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Week 1 &#8220;Monday Night Football&#8221;<\/a> game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/minnesota-vikings\/347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wickersham spoke to Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway, Warren Moon and Steve Young as well as members of the Manning family for his latest book. &#8220;American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback&#8221; is anticipated to be released on Sept. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rome Odunze shares hopes for Ben Johnson as Bears new head coach Chicago Bears star player Rome Odunze&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[247,265,374,1700,1036,1443,692,391,318,339,12,388,7,379,248,267,330,88,6,15,907,245,338,3605,3609,9,266,3606,607],"class_list":{"0":"post-54437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-american-football","10":"tag-bears","11":"tag-caleb","12":"tag-caleb-williams","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-chicago","15":"tag-chicago-bears","16":"tag-college","17":"tag-college-sports","18":"tag-espn","19":"tag-espn-inc","20":"tag-football","21":"tag-inc","22":"tag-national","23":"tag-national-sports","24":"tag-negative","25":"tag-news","26":"tag-nfl","27":"tag-nfl-draft","28":"tag-now","29":"tag-overall","30":"tag-overall-negative","31":"tag-southern","32":"tag-southern-california-trojans-football","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-sports-news","35":"tag-trojans","36":"tag-williams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114516909332260294","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}