Much of the speculation the Chicago Bears could be looking to trade the rights to Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Washington Commanders took a major hit after a Monday report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
There has been speculation about Caleb Williams/Commanders
Schefter actually put out speculation of a possible trade between the Bears and Commanders following the announcement Sunday evening the Commanders would hire Kliff Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator.
Kingsbury was Williams’ quarterbacks coach at USC during the 2023 season. Williams is considered a logical connection for the Commanders since Washington is the hometown of the top quarterback prospect.
Let the speculation begin: Kliff Kingsbury coached Caleb Williams last season. Williams was a standout QB at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. The Commanders currently hold the No. 2 overall pick and are in striking distance of the No. 1 pick that belongs to Chicago. https://t.co/P9uZYvY648
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 5, 2024
For whatever reason, the same people who thought Justin Fields might be a trade option to the Las Vegas Raiders when Kingsbury was expected to become their offensive coordinator last week decided Kingsbury’s hire in Washington meant Williams was a sure follow to the Commanders.
The league expects the Chicago Bears to draft Williams
On Monday morning, Schefter seems to think Williams is a long shot to be drafted by the Commanders. Per Jacob Infante’s transcription of Schefter’s comments on The Pat McAfee Show, the league believes the Bears will draft Williams for several reasons. The main reason being the Bears don’t like their alternative choices to Williams at quarterback of either keeping Fields or drafting another prospect:
“There are a few issues with this. Number one, are the Bears going to be willing to move on from taking Caleb Williams, which I believe seems to be the widespread consensus around the league: that Caleb Williams will be the No. 1 pick.
And if they ARE willing to move on from him, then you have to like Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels enough — or Justin Fields.” “But again, the feeling around the league seems to be that they’ll wind up trading Justin. Whether or not they do, we’ll see, but that seems to be the feeling.”
Adam Schefter just said on The Pat McAfee Show that the belief around the NFL is that the #Bears will draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“There are a few issues with this. Number one, are the Bears going to be willing to move on from taking Caleb…
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) February 5, 2024
Williams signals he’s good with the Bears drafting him
Williams made another decision in the pre-draft process, indicating he’s ready to become the Chicago Bears quarterback. Williams is not working with an agent. Schefter said Williams would have needed to hire an agent if he wanted to force a trade like John Elway and Eli Manning did:
[Schefter] also notes that Caleb isn’t working with an agent, unlike John Elway or Eli Manning. Schefter says requesting to go to Washington — which he says NFL teams won’t be stiff-armed by a prospect — is an intricate process that would require him to hire an agent.
Williams has given no public reason to think he’s interested in forcing a trade away from the Bears. Frankly, the Bears have a better situation for Williams to be drafted to than the Commanders.
The Bears have a playoff-level defense and a number-one wide receiver, D.J. Moore. They need to add to the offensive line and receiving corps, but that can be done this offseason. The Commanders were recently sellers at the trade deadline.
If Williams wanted out of Chicago, he would be taking the necessary steps to do so. He doesn’t have an agent in general manager Ryan Poles’ ear to tell him to make a trade to Washington. Williams’ team did the opposite by forcing Colin Cowherd to retract his statements on the matter last week.
Williams is giving the Bears the green light to draft him with how he has conducted his business this winter.
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