Caleb Williams Responds to Fan's Joke About his Struggles so far
Caleb Williams Responds to OTA Struggles
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams responded to a fan's sarcastic jab about his early struggles during OTAs.
On Friday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft addressed a post on X. Williams experienced a "stretch of inconsistency" during the red-zone portion of practice on Thursday but appears unfazed by any overreactions and is taking the jokes in stride (h/t ESPN's Courtney Cronin).
His teammates aren't worried about his brief struggles either. Veteran safety Kevin Byard encouraged the 22-year-old to keep pushing through adversity.
"I said something to him at the end of practice like, 'Keep it going. We're going to keep making you better,'" Byard said, via Cronin. "Not necessarily saying he had a terrible day, but days like this are going to make you better. You have a returning top-15, top-10 defense, obviously going against a younger rookie quarterback who's getting acclimated and learning things. That's what it is supposed to look like."
Despite the Bears' overall struggles in 2023, they ended the regular season ranked No. 12 among NFL teams in yards per game allowed. It's understandable that Williams might need some time before he's effortlessly carving up professional secondaries.
Head coach Matt Eberflus also acknowledged the learning curve that the former Heisman Trophy winner has faced.
"This is the first time going against a pro defense, and a pretty good one," Eberflus said (per Cronin). "It's going to be learning for everybody. They're getting everything together. It was progress. I saw progress from the first day to the second, the second to the third."
Given his impressive collegiate production, it's fair to assume that Williams will improve as the offseason progresses. During his final year with the Trojans, he completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns with only five interceptions.
Williams is aware of the extremely early criticism he's faced but doesn't seem to be taking it too seriously.
| POLL | ||
25 MAI | 97 ANSWERS Caleb Williams Responds to Fan's Joke About his Struggles so far Do you think Caleb Williams will excel in his rookie season? | ||
| Yes | 78 | 80.4 % |
| No | 19 | 19.6 % |
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