It would make a lot of sense football wise for him to stay at USC or come out and say he won't play for the Bears. Look at their track record with QBs. That being said, money talks and the NIL money isn't quite there yet for the #1 pick to stay. A devastating career-threatening injury as a rookie nets you 35-40 million with guarantees, whereas that same injury in college costs you about 30 million. Plus you get the opportunity to be the face of a franchise in a top 5 market. A lot of pressure with that though.wickerkat1212 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 8:51 amI mean, I wouldn't blame him. But quite often the #1 pick, and top QBs go to bad teams. What I HOPE the Bears do is clean house and hire Harbaugh so that it's more enticing for a guy like Caleb (or Maye).FantasyFreak wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 8:03 amI really don't think Caleb will play for the Bears. He's already suggested he wants some control on where he goes, and I don't blame him. Peyton stayed a year to avoid the Jets, Elway and Eli refused to play for the team that drafted them. I sincerely believe he would decline to play for that organization, and I wouldn't blame him.Cameron Giles wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 6:00 am Haven't seen it mentioned, but there's a pretty good chance that this week determines which team Caleb Williams is playing for next season. A rare coincidence, where all four of the league's 0-3 teams are playing each other this week. So, we're guaranteed two teams starting 0-4.
Broncos vs. Bears
Vikings vs. Panthers
A Yahoo article pointed out that in five of the past seven years, the #1 pick has gone to a team that started 0-4. And at one point from 2003-2012, each of the teams that got the #1 pick started 0-4.
Of course, the other coincidence is that the Bears own the Panthers draft pick this year.
If you're in a rebuild and tanking for Caleb, you might want to keep track of those scores. One of those 3 teams has a good chance to be where he's playing next season.
Bears having the Panthers 1st round pick really gives them a lot leverage during the draft (if things keep going the way they are). If Caleb comes out and says he won't play for the Bears they could still draft him and another QB. Usually teams would use a player's unwillingness to play for a certain franchise as a way to lowball them. Bears having 2 potential top 3 picks really eliminates that. If he really is generational, then a team is going to have to pay an arm and a leg to get him.
Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, and MHJ would be fun.
God, I hate being a Bears fan during the season lately. It's week 4 and we are already planning to "win" the offseason again.