On Wednesday, Chicago Bears’ rookie quarterback and 2024 first overall selection, Caleb Williams, sign his rookie contract for the team, a day after reporting for training camp. One day before, fellow first-round pick, wide receiver Rome Odunze, signed his rookie deal also. With both selections signed and ready for camp, the Bears will avoid costly holds outs, something that plagued the front office for several years in the late 90s and early 00s. For Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, the pair of talented offensive players avoid joining a group of former first-round picks that they do not want to be a part of.
Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze Were Close To Joining The Likes Of Cade McNown and David Terrell if They Would of Held Out
Rookies holding out at the start of training camp is a common theme every year in the NFL, but are extremely negative for the specific player and their respective team. From 1998 to 2001. The Bears had an unfortunate run of first-round offensive selections holding out at the beginning of training camp. Running back Curtis Enis, quarterback Cade McNown, and wide receiver David Terrell all had lengthy hold outs to begin their careers with Chicago, which eventually hampered their rookie seasons immensely.
Heading into the 1998 season, Enis held out for most of Chicago’s training camp, which led to several issues for the team’s plans and the rookie’s overall conditioning level. Then head coach Dave Wannstedt had planned on using the Penn State running back as a prominent part of the team’s offense, but was forced to change due to the extended holdout, resulting in the signing of Bam Morris. When the season started, Enis was gradually worked into the offense, but due to poor conditioning, had to come out in key moments of games, including a vital goal-line situation in the season opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The next year, Chicago drafted McNown out of UCLA with the 12th overall selection after trading down five spots with Washington. Before the start of training camp, head coach Dick Jauron had named the UCLA signal-caller his opening day starter, but plans were forced again to change, when the rookie held out for noticeable amount of time. Although McNown did flash during his rookie season of 1999, there were several times where he looked overmatched and under prepared, despite being seen by draft analysts as the most-readied quarterback of the five first-rounders taken.
Two years later, the Bears would have another one of their first-round picks hold out when Michigan wide receiver David Terrell, taken ninth overall, held out for more than a week. Similar to Enis and McNown, Chicago’s offense had planned for the rookie pass-catcher be a feature part of their offense, but because of him sitting out camp, plans were changed as it took a while to get him incorporated. Terrell had only 34 receptions for 415 yards in his rookie season of 2001, with his playing-time only increasing due to the season-ending injury to top wide receiver Marcus Robinson in Week 7.
The main struggle each of the hold outs had were that even though they were talented, they failed when it came to developing at the NFL level because they missed vital practice time, which would have improved their conditioning and knowledge to better preform in their rookie seasons. Terrell, McNown, and Enis were all highly touted coming out of college, as many draft analysts believed that each one was a can’t miss talent. Although their careers have yet not started, holding out would have been unfortunate for Caleb Williams or Rome Odunze.
A Hold Out Would Not Have Defined Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze’s careers, But Would Have Stigmatized Them If They underperformed
Had either Caleb Williams or Rome Odunze held out to begin the 2024 Bears’ training camp, it would haven’t been serious in the long-term, but would have been something that negatively plagued either player had they played poorly to begin their careers. Especially for Williams, given how there are unfair misconceptions regarding his personality and mental maturity. A hold out by the quarterback would have placed him in the same category as McNown, as the former UCLA signal-caller’s glaring weakness was his maturity level as he was seen as a cancer by the locker room during his brief time with the Bears.
McNown was traded after the 2000 season because he was so despised by his fellow teammates, which included a good amount of Bears’ players asking Jauron to start Shane Matthews in the Week 17 finale instead of the second-year starter. If Williams were to have held out for a lengthy period of time, resulting in Tyson Bagent being the season-opening starter or a prolonged struggled by the rookie, fans and some media members would have pointed back to the hold out as the contributing cause. Getting into camp on time, now gives the USC quarterback as much time as possible to fully prepare for his rookie season with the Bears.
The stigma of being a hold out can overshadow and mischaracterize why a first-round selection failed to live up to their potential. Enis is a prime example as most Bears’ fans forget that the running back’s failures to produce was due in part to suffering career-limiting knee injuries. The Penn State half back’s 1998 and 1999 season both ended due to significant knee injuries, resulting in 2000 being his final year in the league. Fans forget that Enis nearly rushed for 1,000 yards during the 1999 season, and would have eclipsed the mark had he not gotten injured in the second to last game.
For Odunze, when a wide receiver holds out, there is a massive stigma that gets tagged to the player, as several first-round pass-catchers have notoriously held out, only to completely fail. During Terrell’s four-year career with the Bears, he only recorded two 100-yard receiving games, while only catching nine touchdowns. For Odunze, making sure he is fully acclimated into Chicago’s offense is vital, as there is a significant drop off at the wide receiver position, after Pro Bowl pass-catchers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.
When remembering Enis, McNown, and Terrell, Bears’ fans are quick to highlight that all three were not only busts as first round selections, but also training camp hold outs. Their respective careers were not ended by their decision to hold out to begin their rookie seasons in the NFL, but it did drastically hinder them. For Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, they have avoided that first negative hurdle, and now have the potential to achieve utmost success in their upcoming rookie season.
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