Caleb Williams has huge shoes to fill ahead of his impending arrival to the Chicago Bears.
Former Bears quarterback Justin Fields was talented, of course, but he was also beloved in the locker room. His teammates were quite vocal about wanting him to stay in Chicago. But, ultimately, it was general manager Ryan Poles’ call to trade Fields and essentially usher in the Williams era.
Receiver DJ Moore recently spoke about what Williams needs to do to earn respect from the locker room, cornerback Jaylon Johnson is the latest Bears veteran chiming in on Williams’ impending arrival and how he needs to prove himself.
“You just humble yourself coming into the building,” Johnson said on Up & Adams. “You can’t bring that Hollywood stuff into the building, especially with guys who have played the game at a high level for consecutive years in the league. Guys like myself, Tremaine (Edmunds), T.J. (Edwards), now Keenan Allen. We’re going to see through that. What you did in college, the Hollywood, nah, you’ve gotta prove yourself. Stuff like that doesn’t matter.”
Chicago CB Jaylon Johnson on how projected no. 1 pick Caleb Williams would be received in the #Bears locker room 🔊🔊@NBAxJay1 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/q2U9kho6Id
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) March 20, 2024
While there’s been a lot of focus on Johnson’s remarks about “that Hollywood stuff,” he went on to explain the importance of getting to know Williams as a person and wanting him to be the best he can be.
“You gotta get to know him, too. I think it’s a fine line between trying to prove a point to him, but also getting to know him,” Johnson said. “Because, at the end of the day, we want him to be the absolute best he can be. That’s what we’re bringing him in for, to win games. I think truly just learning who he is as a person, learning him deeper than all the Hollywood stuff you see, but actually trying to learn and get to know him.
“And then knowing from there what pushes him. If it is trash talk, if trash talk makes him crumble, then I mean, I feel like we gotta push that button because people in the game, they’re gonna push that button. Depending on whatever it is that he needs to be pushed at, I feel like that’s our job and that’s our duty as his teammates to make him better to strengthen his weaknesses.”
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