Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear.
Not officially. Not yet. But this is about as close to official as we’re going to get short of handing in the card on draft night, April 25.
It’s been clear for quite awhile — even before Chicago traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the closer we get to the NFL draft, the clearer it becomes that Williams will be calling Chicago home in the near future.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Williams is only taking one pre-draft Top 30 visit — and that already happened with the Bears earlier this week.
We’ve come a long way from the rampant (and false) rumors that Williams didn’t want to be in Chicago.
“I think it’s very clear that Caleb Williams would in fact like to be in Chicago despite a whole bunch of commentary and speculation otherwise,” Rapoport said.
And why wouldn’t he want to be? The Bears have an arsenal of weapons, including DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet and D’Andre Swift, a solid offensive line and a top-10 caliber defense. They also added a new offensive staff, including play caller Shane Waldron and QB coach Kerry Joseph. It’s about as perfect a situation a No. 1 rookie quarterback has ever had.
From Path to the Draft: Caleb Williams is taking one visit. Just 1️⃣. pic.twitter.com/ESpGFaLBIC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 4, 2024
Chicago hasn’t attempted to hide its intentions when it comes to the first overall pick. They’ve spent extensive time with Williams after trading Fields (which seemed to make it all official), including spending time with Williams in Los Angeles ahead of his pro day workout.
This week, the Bears hosted Williams at Halas Hall (for his one and only Top 30 visit), which also featured a dinner with Bears brass and some current players.
“It does seem that the Bears are honing in on Caleb Williams,” Rapoport said. “Obviously, nothing firm, no announcement, nothing official. But that seems to be the direction they are heading now. And it seems like Caleb Williams also would like that.”
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