Latest news with #AmericanKings
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams' Attitude Strongly Questioned by Former NFL MVP on Friday
The Chicago Bears surrounded Caleb Williams with a litany of targets in the passing game the past two offseasons, giving hope for the former USC Trojans quarterback to become one of the most productive and successful QBs in the league this season. Williams had a solid rookie season on the stat sheet with over 3,500 yards passing, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, but still took tons of heat from social media commenters and media pundits as the Bears failed to make the playoffs in year one. Advertisement On Friday, a tirade from former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason surfaced during which he used colorful language to describe the Bears QB's mannerisms and attitude with the team. Williams sits courtside at a Chicago Bulls game. © David Banks-Imagn Images "Keep your mouth shut," Esiason said in a video shared Friday. "You're going into the greatest league that there's ever been for the sport we all love. You're going to have a chance one day to make $500 million because guys like me and guys before me all went on strike so you could actually make more money. "So keep your piehole shut and go and play football and earn your keep and earn your respect," Esiason said. Esiason appeared to respond to past tense comments from Caleb in a book called 'American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback" by Seth Wickersham. Advertisement In the book, Caleb's father Carl stats that "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die. "Do I want to get there?" Williams reportedly wondered aloud in the book. "I don't think I can do it with (former Bears offensive coordinator Shane) Waldron." Fans had a large variety of comments under the video, which received over 384 thousand views as of Friday afternoon. "Caleb Williams is everything everyone thinks Shedeur is," one fan said. "Caleb Williams is a bust," another said. "It's not even Caleb, it's his dad saying everything," another said. "He's wrong. Him defending (former Bears coach) Matt Eberflus shows he's wrong on the situation," another fan said. Advertisement "This has not been a good offseason for Caleb," another added, furthering the lightning rod narrative surrounding the Chicago signal caller. Related: Caleb Bombshell Highlights Commanders Luck With Jayden
Fox Sports
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
HC Ben Johnson speaks on report of Caleb Williams not wanting Bears to draft him
Caleb Williams didn't want to become a member of the Chicago Bears ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, with a new book reporting that the quarterback and his family sought ways to avoid heading to the Windy City last offseason. However, new Bears' head coach Ben Johnson isn't too concerned about how Williams might have felt in the past. In an interview on "The Herd," Johnson, who was hired by Chicago in January after three seasons as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, suggested that whatever feelings Williams had about the Bears' organization in the past are water under the bridge. "I don't know what's been going on prior to him joining the organization, but he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear," Johnson said on Thursday. "That's what our conversations have included. He's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025." The upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback" reported that Williams and his father, Carl, had fears about joining the Bears due to their lack of historical success at quarterback. Chicago remains the lone organization in the NFL that's yet to have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Additionally, quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields didn't get second contracts with the Bears after being drafted in the first round in the last 10 years. Williams might have been spooked by the same ghosts that haunted Bears quarterbacks of the past as a rookie, too. The highly-touted No. 1 overall pick had a respectable statline in 2024, completing 62.5% of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions to go with an 87.8 passer rating and 489 rushing yards. However, Williams was sacked a league-leading 68 times and Chicago's offense ranked last in total yards. It was also 28th in scoring. On top of Williams leading the league in sacks taken and quarterbacking one of the league's worst offenses, there was some turmoil behind the scenes. The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron during their 10-game losing streak. As Chicago parted ways with both coaches during the year, Williams told his dad that he often watched film alone because no one instructed him what film to watch, according to reporting in "American Kings." The Bears tabbed Johnson as the guy to try and unlock Williams' potential as one of the top quarterback prospects in recent years. Prior to becoming the Bears head coach, Johnson became one of the top coaching commodities thanks to his impressive tenure with Detroit, where he oversaw an offense that ranked top-5 in both points scored per game and total yards per game in each of his three seasons. While there's a lot of potential in the Williams-Johnson partnership, there's obviously still the possibility that the Bears could fall short. Johnson is working with Williams on his mental state, to help with any issues he might have when the going gets tough. "You talk about fears and I don't see it quite the same way," Johnson said. "I see this as, 'What a great opportunity we have to do something that really has never been done.' There hasn't been a 4,000-yard passer here in this franchise and I think Caleb is going to be the first one, and one of many years, many seasons to come where he's able to accomplish that feat. I see a chance for greatness here for him. He's been communicated that way and he feels the same way. "There's no question we're going to face adversity," Johnson added. "We want to see growth from [lower] to here [higher] over the course of the season and it's not going to be linear growth. It's going to be a little bit of ups and downs and stair steps along the way, but we want to see from Game 1 to Game 17 that we're getting better as a whole. And that's not just him, that's us as a team as well. That's what makes coaching fun is when the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes, how do we respond to it? That's when you find out who you are as a man." In order to help quell any fears Williams might have this season, the Bears bolstered the offense around Williams. They remade the interior of their offensive line, adding guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, along with center Drew Dalman. In the draft, they added tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III with their first two picks. As the team has improved around Williams, Johnson's gotten a chance to see what his quarterback can do over the last month or so in the offseason program. He's liked what he's seen so far, saying things have gone "really well" with Williams. When Colin Cowherd asked Johnson if there was any particular moment that's stood out to him during Williams' offseason, he couldn't pin it down to just one. "He's got such great God-given ability that we're trying to tap into. You see it every day right now. It's going to be more fun when we get the competitive nature of offense vs. defense in OTAs." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Caleb Williams sought ways to avoid getting drafted by Bears, per new book
Caleb Williams is fully entrenched as the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback, entering his second season with the franchise. However, if he and his family had their initial say, Williams might have been playing quarterback elsewhere in 2025. Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams and his family sought ways to potentially circumvent the draft process, going as far as consulting with lawyers to find a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement and weighing the idea of joining the UFL instead, according to the upcoming book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." In a direct quote from the book, Caleb Williams' father, Carl, told author Seth Wickersham that "Chicago is the place that quarterbacks go to die." Additionally, Williams had also questioned his fit with then-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before the team took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to the book. Other findings from "American Kings" surrounding Williams include the quarterback's desire to be drafted by the Minnesota Vikings following a meeting with head coach Kevin O'Connell and considering an attack plan to get the Bears to trade the No. 1 overall pick. However, Williams relented on that idea. "I wasn't ready to nuke the city," Williams told Wickersham of the possible idea of forcing Chicago to trade the pick it used to select him. Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, there had been some rumors that Williams and his camp were considering ways to avoid winding up with the Bears, as he had been widely regarded as one of the best quarterback prospects in recent memory. Such a move isn't unprecedented, but it is rare and hasn't happened in recent years. John Elway used his baseball background to force a trade to the Denver Broncos after the Indianapolis Colts took him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1983. Bo Jackson refused to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the team took him with the No. 1 pick in 1986, opting to play baseball instead. In 2004, the New York Giants wound up taking Eli Manning with the No. 1 overall pick after his family expressed concerns over playing for the Chargers. Eventually, Williams said that he'd be OK with ending up with the Bears during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. "If I get drafted by the Bears, I'll be excited," Williams told ESPN at the time. "If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I'm just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they'd be excited. "I'm not pushing any agenda," Williams added on the possibility of demanding a trade. "At the end of the day, the Bears have the last say. Regardless of how I feel, I'm not pushing an agenda of, 'Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don't want to go.' I'm excited for whatever comes." While Williams eventually warmed up to the idea of playing for the Bears, his rookie season didn't go too well. He put up a respectable statline, completing 62.5% of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions to go with an 87.8 passer rating and 489 rushing yards. However, Williams was sacked a league-leading 68 times and Chicago's offense ranked last in total yards. It was also 28th in scoring. Amid those struggles, the Bears fired Waldron following their Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots. Three weeks later, head coach Matt Eberflus was fired following a devastating loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. That marked the sixth loss for the Bears in a 10-game losing streak, which caused them to finish the year with a 5-12 record after going 4-2 before their bye week. As the Bears' season went into free fall, Williams also had some troubles behind the scenes. He told his dad that he often watched film alone because no one instructed him what film to watch, according to "American Kings." The Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to replace Eberflus as head coach in January, scooping up one of the top coaching commodities in recent years to help Williams in Year 2 and beyond. Johnson's hiring, plus a busy offseason that saw the Bears remake the interior of their offensive line, has Williams "super excited" for the 2025 season. "Being able to be in this position, being able to have a first year the way I did, ups and downs, and then to be able come in here, be as confident as I was last year or possibly even more and to be able to get here with the group that we have, I really can't wait to get to work with these guys," Williams told reporters in April. "We've got a good group of guys personality-wise, and then obviously talent-wise, it speaks for itself, what some of these guys have been able to do, and so many key pieces that we added so far to this team. We've meshed well these past two days of introduction, and now today of our first workout, and [we're] getting after it." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
