Caleb Williams tried to avoid being drafted by Bears in 2024, hoped to play for this team instead, per report

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.

Caleb Williams CHI • QB • #18 CMP% 62.5 YDs 3541 TD 20 INT 6 YD/Att 6.3 View Profile

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.

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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.

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