New book reveals Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams tried to find way from joining team

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and his family tried to find a way to avoid being drafted by the Bears in 2024, according to a new book written by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham that’s set to publish in September.

In the book, Wickersham details how the Williams family looked at different options for the Bears not to select Williams with the No. 1 overall pick. That allegedly included consulting lawyers to find a way around the NFL’s bargaining agreement, talking to Archie Manning about his experience with his son Eli and even signing with the United Football League.

Williams’ father, Carl, was reportedly concerned about the Bears’ inability to develop quarterbacks recently, including Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields.

“Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” Carl Williams allegedly said in the book.

The details were included in excerpts released by ESPN on Thursday from Wickersham’s book ”American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback." The book will detail accounts of “what it means to be a quarterback at various levels, from high school to college to the NFL, and what it’s like for legends in retirement.”

According to Wickersham, Caleb Williams liked meeting with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell during the NFL Combine and wanted to go to the Vikings. But the family knew it would be tough to force a trade to a division rival. Bears general manager Ryan Poles reportedly told Caleb Williams the Bears were drafting him no matter what.

The family considered attacking the Bears and the city of Chicago, but decided against it. “I wasn’t ready to nuke the city,” Caleb Williams told Wickersham.

After a predraft visit to Halas Hall, Williams believed he could turn the Bears around.

The book will also reveal just how dysfunctional things were for Williams during his rookie season under head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Both were fired during a 5-12 season.

“No one tells me what to watch,” Caleb Williams told his dad, according to the book. “I just turn it on.”

Williams will try to turn things around in his second season under new head coach Ben Johnson. The Bears will hold offseason training activities starting Tuesday.