NEWSLETTER
One of the most annoying narratives of the 2023 football season was following the will-he-or-won’t-he stuff with USC quarterback Caleb Williams. And while that didn’t come to an end until he declared for the 2024 NFL Draft in May, it ultimately came to an end. For a moment, we had peace.
That moment is over now, as there is a new storyline to follow if you’re obsessively following the Caleb Williams story arc.
FOX Sports talk show host Colin Cowherd shares why he believes the Bears will not draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in April.
“I do think it’s possible that Washington trades up and Chicago allows Washington to trade up. Because Caleb (Williams) and his group do not want to go to Chicago. He’s from the D.C. area. I think Dan Quinn is considered. The big concern for Caleb Williams, and you have to admit this, where you land matters. Chicago has never developed a star quarterback.”
*Heavy sigh*
Here we go again.
Williams trying to manipulate where he goes would seem to go against what NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said when the QB protest declared for the draft in January: “The Heisman trophy winner enters the process excited for whoever ends up selecting him.” It still sticks with me that RapSheet went out of his way to write that line about being excited for whichever team ends up picking him. That one-liner made me think the scuttlebutt about Williams not wanting to play for the Bears was going to be put to rest. But as I said at the time, we should also rethink how we’re getting news, who we’re getting it from, and how we should interpret it.
We just did a post discussing how NFL insider Albert Breer said he would be surprised if the Bears didn’t choose Caleb Williams with the top pick in April’s draft. And now we have Cowherd talking about the Bears not being where Williams wants to land. Ahhh, you’ve gotta love subterfuge season in the NFL. It starts earlier and earlier every year.
The latest Caleb Williams rumor makes my eyes roll
Parsing through Cowherd’s words and I come away saying to myself that this sounds like speculation. Possibly informed speculation. After all, the LA-based Cowherd gets his fair share of Cali scoops. But speculation nonetheless. And it seems to be speculation based on the narrative of the Bears failing to develop a starting quarterback. Which… *MEGA EYE ROLL* isn’t exclusive to Chicago’s football team.
Don’t get me wrong. I get it. You don’t have to tell Bears fans twice about the franchise’s failures at quarterback. But it’s not as if Washington is some QB development factory. If it was, then the Commanders wouldn’t own the second pick. So when Cowherd tries to rationalize this by pointing out Chicago’s quarterback development failures while glossing over Washington’s issues in the same area makes those words sound hollow.
Beyond that, I’m not sure what to make of this development. There is only so much Caleb Williams and his people can do to orchestrate where he lands. They could conceivably go down the Eli Manning path. But if that is the case, then the Bears could leverage this situation into their favor. Maybe the Commanders would counter by calling Chicago’s bluff. Or perhaps the Bears dial up the New England Patriots, owners of the No. 3 pick, and discuss a deal with them for the first selection — and the right to draft Williams in April. There are options here, folks.
It has been maybe 24 hours since we pushed publish a piece laying out how the Bears were looking like a good quarterback-developing environment with their recent moves… Maybe someone should send that to Caleb’s camp and see how they feel about it.
