One of the crazier statistics in sports is that the Chicago Bears, who have been around for all 105 seasons of the NFL, have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 or more passing yards in a single season.
Passing yards certainly aren’t the most indicative metric of high-level quarterback performance, but the aforementioned fact is indicative of the Bears’ inability to develop quarterbacks. That’s why current franchise passer Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, actually sought a solution to avoid becoming a Bear prior to last year’s draft, according to an ESPN report.
ESPN’s Seth Wickersham detailed in his upcoming book “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback” that Williams and his family thought about eschewing the NFL Draft and met with lawyers to figure out how to do just that. One potential plan was for Williams to reportedly circumvent the 2024 draft altogether and sign with a team in the United Football League for a year to avoid being chosen by Chicago.
“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl Williams, Caleb’s father, told Wickersham months prior to the 2024 draft.
The young quarterback was quoted as being skeptical about his ability to develop under then-Chicago offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was fired 10 weeks into his tenure after a 19-3 home defeat against the New England Patriots in Week 10 of the 2024 season. Another NFC North team actually became the object of Williams and his family’s eye: the Minnesota Vikings. After a 2024 NFL Scouting Combine meeting with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, Williams reportedly told his father that he needed to “go to the Vikings.”
Bears general manager Ryan Poles extinguished all hope of Williams going anywhere but Chicago when he reportedly told the USC star signal-caller, “We’re drafting you no matter what.”
Williams’ rookie year was as chaotic as he and his family envisioned with him reportedly being left to watch film alone without the guidance from the offensive coaching staff. Given that context, it’s honestly a miracle he threw for 3,541 yards passing and 20 touchdowns to only six interceptions while also rushing for 489 yards. That made Williams one of only four rookies in NFL history to amass 4,000 or more total yards with fewer than 10 interceptions. He joined 2024 second overall pick Jayden Daniels, who won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III. Unsurprisingly, Williams was sacked an NFL-most 68 times, which is tied for the third-highest total in a single season ever.
Now Williams should be in line for much more hands-on development under new Bears head coach Ben Johnson, whose Detroit Lions offenses averaged an NFL-most 29.0 points per game during his tenure as their offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Jamal Murray listed as questionable (illness) for Game 6 as Nuggets try to extend series vs. Thunder
Getty Images The Denver Nuggets face elimination Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and their chance of extending the series to force a Game 7 may have just hit a snag. On the most recent injury report, Jamal Murray is listed as questionable with an illness.It's unclear what that illness is or how serious it is, but it is concerning given Denver's season is on the line. If Murray is dealing with any illness heading into Thursday night's game, it can jeopardize the Nuggets' chances of mounting a comeback in this series. Thunder vs. Nuggets prediction, pick, odds, time: Game 6 best bet as OKC tries to knock out Nikola Jokić Murray had 28 points in Denver's Game 5 loss, and while it wasn't an efficient night for him, he was the only other Nuggets player who provided any […]
Whitby hat-trick gives Saints much-needed win over Catalans
Megan Wellens Digital Sports Journalist @MegWellensX Three tries from George Whitby plus efforts from Deon Cross, Alex Walmsley, Tristan Sailor and Lewis Murphy ended Saints' losing streak; Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live Last Updated: 15/05/25 9:55pm Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player A huge hit from Agnatius Paasi lead to St Helens picking up their third try of the game against Catalans Dragons A huge hit from Agnatius Paasi lead to St Helens picking up their third try of the game against Catalans Dragons A George Whitby hat-trick gave St Helens a much-needed and dominant 40-0 victory over Catalans Dragons at the Totally Wicked Stadium in Round 11 of the Betfred Super League. With both sides needing to win […]
Warriors’ Jimmy Butler on potential two-year window for another NBA title: ‘We have a lot of great basketball left ahead of us’
After a season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors' chance at another NBA championship came to a close. Though some think the Warriors are heading toward the end of an era, Golden State forward Jimmy Butler is confident there is more to come from this team.The contracts of Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all expire at the same time — in two years, after the 2026-2027 season. Head coach Steve Kerr's contract is up after next season, after signing a two-year extension last year. This likely gives the Warriors a limited window to win another championship with its current star core.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDuring a postseason press conference on Thursday, Butler was asked if he sees the next two years as a window for a championship. The forward agreed, but added that it could be even longer."If […]
PGA Championship: Eric Cole sinks perfect hole-in-one in opening round at Quail Hollow
The first ace of the PGA Championship goes to Eric Cole.Cole hit the perfect tee shot at the 184-yard par 3 fourth on Thursday afternoon to kick off the second major championship of the season. Cole's ball bounced four times quickly on the front edge of the green at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, and rolled straight into the cup — which sparked a huge celebration back at the tee box.That ace came at the perfect time, too. Cole was struggling on his back nine after opening with a bogey and a double. The ace moved him back to even par for the day.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCole has yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career. He has two top-10 finishes on Tour this season, however, most recently a T5 run at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson two weeks ago. […]
Kanaďané otočili duel s Rakušany
Skupina A (Stockholm):Kanada - Rakousko 5:1 (0:1, 2:0, 3:0)Branky a nahrávky: 22. MacKinnon (Montour, Horvat), 34. MacKinnon (Montour, Danault), 49. Konecny (Cuylle, Dobson), 52. Cuylle (Konecny, Montour), 59. Crosby (Horvat, MacKinnon) - 12. Rohrer (Lebler, Baumgartner). Rozhodčí: Holm (Švéd.), MacFarlane (USA) - Ankerstjerne (Dán.), Gustafson (USA). Vyloučení: 2:2. Využití: 1:0. Diváci: 5259.Kanada: Fleury - Spurgeon, Sanheim, Dobson, Weegar, Montour, Matheson, Evans - Cuylle, MacKinnon, Horvat - Konecny, Crosby, Celebrini - K. Johnson, R. O'Reilly, Fantilli - Hayton, Danault, B. Schenn. Trenér: Evanson.Rakousko: Vorauer - Wolf, Unterweger, Nickl, Heinrich, Maier, Biber, Schnetzer, Stapelfeldt - Schneider, Kasper, Zwerger - Rohrer, Baumgartner, T. Raffl - Thaler, Haudum, P. Huber - Achermann, Kraus, Kainz. Trenér: Bader.
2025 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Projections: Emeka Egbuka could be the most intriguing rookie WR to watch
The 2025 NFL Draft had a monumental impact at the running back position. At wide receiver? Not so much. Travis Hunter is my WR29 in the projections below, but he didn't really move the projection needle for Brian Thomas that much. There is room for both of them to be great. Tetairoa McMillan is the second-highest wide receiver in the projections at WR36, but there was no one in Carolina I really wanted to draft anyway.If you think I am too low on Hunter and McMillan, understand that I rank them higher because of their upside. The same is true for the rest of the rookies, and a few of them did make a bigger impact on their teammates than Hunter and McMillan.I had Scott Boulanger on FFT Dynasty recently to talk about the Un Score WR model. The model […]
Related
Jamal Murray listed as questionable (illness) for Game 6 as Nuggets try to extend series vs. Thunder
Getty Images The Denver Nuggets face elimination Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and their chance of extending the series to force a Game 7 may have just hit a snag. On the most recent injury report, Jamal Murray is listed as questionable with an illness.It's unclear what that illness is or how serious it is, but it is concerning given Denver's season is on the line. If Murray is dealing with any illness heading into Thursday night's game, it can jeopardize the Nuggets' chances of mounting a comeback in this series. Thunder vs. Nuggets prediction, pick, odds, time: Game 6 best bet as OKC tries to knock out Nikola Jokić Murray had 28 points in Denver's Game 5 loss, and while it wasn't an efficient night for him, he was the only other Nuggets player who provided any […]
Whitby hat-trick gives Saints much-needed win over Catalans
Megan Wellens Digital Sports Journalist @MegWellensX Three tries from George Whitby plus efforts from Deon Cross, Alex Walmsley, Tristan Sailor and Lewis Murphy ended Saints' losing streak; Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live Last Updated: 15/05/25 9:55pm Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player A huge hit from Agnatius Paasi lead to St Helens picking up their third try of the game against Catalans Dragons A huge hit from Agnatius Paasi lead to St Helens picking up their third try of the game against Catalans Dragons A George Whitby hat-trick gave St Helens a much-needed and dominant 40-0 victory over Catalans Dragons at the Totally Wicked Stadium in Round 11 of the Betfred Super League. With both sides needing to win […]
Warriors’ Jimmy Butler on potential two-year window for another NBA title: ‘We have a lot of great basketball left ahead of us’
After a season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors' chance at another NBA championship came to a close. Though some think the Warriors are heading toward the end of an era, Golden State forward Jimmy Butler is confident there is more to come from this team.The contracts of Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all expire at the same time — in two years, after the 2026-2027 season. Head coach Steve Kerr's contract is up after next season, after signing a two-year extension last year. This likely gives the Warriors a limited window to win another championship with its current star core.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDuring a postseason press conference on Thursday, Butler was asked if he sees the next two years as a window for a championship. The forward agreed, but added that it could be even longer."If […]
PGA Championship: Eric Cole sinks perfect hole-in-one in opening round at Quail Hollow
The first ace of the PGA Championship goes to Eric Cole.Cole hit the perfect tee shot at the 184-yard par 3 fourth on Thursday afternoon to kick off the second major championship of the season. Cole's ball bounced four times quickly on the front edge of the green at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, and rolled straight into the cup — which sparked a huge celebration back at the tee box.That ace came at the perfect time, too. Cole was struggling on his back nine after opening with a bogey and a double. The ace moved him back to even par for the day.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCole has yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career. He has two top-10 finishes on Tour this season, however, most recently a T5 run at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson two weeks ago. […]
Kanaďané otočili duel s Rakušany
Skupina A (Stockholm):Kanada - Rakousko 5:1 (0:1, 2:0, 3:0)Branky a nahrávky: 22. MacKinnon (Montour, Horvat), 34. MacKinnon (Montour, Danault), 49. Konecny (Cuylle, Dobson), 52. Cuylle (Konecny, Montour), 59. Crosby (Horvat, MacKinnon) - 12. Rohrer (Lebler, Baumgartner). Rozhodčí: Holm (Švéd.), MacFarlane (USA) - Ankerstjerne (Dán.), Gustafson (USA). Vyloučení: 2:2. Využití: 1:0. Diváci: 5259.Kanada: Fleury - Spurgeon, Sanheim, Dobson, Weegar, Montour, Matheson, Evans - Cuylle, MacKinnon, Horvat - Konecny, Crosby, Celebrini - K. Johnson, R. O'Reilly, Fantilli - Hayton, Danault, B. Schenn. Trenér: Evanson.Rakousko: Vorauer - Wolf, Unterweger, Nickl, Heinrich, Maier, Biber, Schnetzer, Stapelfeldt - Schneider, Kasper, Zwerger - Rohrer, Baumgartner, T. Raffl - Thaler, Haudum, P. Huber - Achermann, Kraus, Kainz. Trenér: Bader.
2025 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Projections: Emeka Egbuka could be the most intriguing rookie WR to watch
The 2025 NFL Draft had a monumental impact at the running back position. At wide receiver? Not so much. Travis Hunter is my WR29 in the projections below, but he didn't really move the projection needle for Brian Thomas that much. There is room for both of them to be great. Tetairoa McMillan is the second-highest wide receiver in the projections at WR36, but there was no one in Carolina I really wanted to draft anyway.If you think I am too low on Hunter and McMillan, understand that I rank them higher because of their upside. The same is true for the rest of the rookies, and a few of them did make a bigger impact on their teammates than Hunter and McMillan.I had Scott Boulanger on FFT Dynasty recently to talk about the Un Score WR model. The model […]
Be the first to leave a comment