Williams says Bears situation ‘pretty exciting’
INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Williams climbed to Podium 4 inside the media interview room at the Indiana Convention Center and offered a hearty “Good morning, everybody!” as dozens of reporters held up their phones to capture images of the talk of the NFL scouting combine.
Not a second later, before greetings could be returned, a question was yelled from the crowd.
“Are you afraid to compete?” the person asked, a reference to Williams’ decision to skip on-field workouts and medical testing this week.
Williams didn’t flinch at the odd, confrontational phrasing, a slight smile on his face as he offered that, no, he was not afraid, it was simply a decision he made with his family and team.
The USC quarterback, the presumptive top pick in this year’s draft, handled the rest of his 13-minute interview Friday with equal ease. He was confident yet personable, answering goofy questions about whether birds are real — “Government-related,” he quipped — and serious ones about potentially going to the Chicago Bears at No. 1.
His willingness to play in Chicago, where so few quarterbacks have succeeded, has been a topic of debate this offseason. Williams debunked the notion he wouldn’t want the Bears to draft him in an interview with ESPN’s Pete Thamel earlier this week. And he expounded Friday, noting the Bears’ 7-10 record in 2023.
“That’s pretty good for a team that has the first pick,” Williams said. “And they’ve got a good defense. They’ve got good players on offense, and it’s pretty exciting if you can go into a situation like that.”
The Bears already have done extensive work on Williams as a player, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner who threw for 8,170 yards with 72 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in two seasons at USC. But Bears general manager Ryan Poles has said a couple of times they’re trying to narrow in on the quarterback prospects as people.
Williams is certainly a unique one, a prospect like few the NFL has seen, given that he already has built his brand with millions of dollars in name, image and