Those Close To Caleb Williams Says Washington Smoke Is Real
Everything coming out of the scouting combine has indicated the Chicago Bears are done with Justin Fields. They will find a way to trade him in the coming weeks, paving the way for GM Ryan Poles to take his preferred quarterback in the draft. Another prevailing belief around the NFL is that the Bears have also reached their decision on that front. It will be Caleb Williams of USC. They love his tape and haven’t gotten any bad impressions from talking both to him and people who have worked closely with him.
However, one subplot remains in the background. What about the Washington Commanders? They sit at #2 overall, and word persists they are trying hard to convince the Bears to consider swapping picks so they can take Williams. Former scouting director Greg Gabriel said the possibility is there. What could complicate this situation is if the quarterback himself decides to press the issue. According to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, some familiar with him and his family believe it can’t be ruled out.
Regardless of what Williams told ESPN or said during his combine media session about playing for the Bears, one league source familiar with Williams said that there should be some concern that he and his father, Carl, could become infatuated with the idea of playing for the Washington Commanders as the long pre-draft process plays out.
The Commanders should have as many interactions with Williams as the Bears have with him.
At the very least, it’s something to watch, given how much time remains before the draft.
“He’s a Washington kid,” the league source said. “It’s his home.”
Everything hinges on the Bears’ evaluation of Caleb Williams.
That is to say, how big of a gap is there between him and the other top quarterbacks in this class? If he is well above everybody else, it’s hard to imagine the Bears doing anything other than drafting him. On the other hand, if the gap is narrow, Poles might consider taking the hefty package Washington would send and go for either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. It is worth mentioning the Bears only have five picks left in the 2024 draft. Poles typically prefers operating with around ten. Maybe he always had a move in mind.
As things stand, the vast majority of insiders believe Caleb Williams will be a Bear by the end of April. The only way that changes is if a major red flag develops during interviews towards the end of March. One of them would be Williams making a push to go home to Washington, perhaps threatening to make things messy otherwise. That seems unlikely, but anything is possible. The Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury, his former quarterbacks coach at USC, to become their new offensive coordinator.
Poles said only a huge offer would move him off that spot. We will see if Washington is ready to pay.