How Bears' Ben Johnson handled book controversy with Caleb Williams

First-year Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson previously insisted that second-year quarterback Caleb Williams "is very proud to be" a member of the organization. 

This comes after it was learned that Williams and his family allegedly looked into attempting to prevent the Bears from making him the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.  

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Johnson confirmed that he has addressed the potential controversy with Williams. 

"Have we talked about it? Yeah, we talked about it last week after it came out," Johnson said, per Bobby Kownack of the NFL's website. "But he's his own man. He's going to be treated as such. I think we're both really looking forward to turning the page on years prior and focusing on the here and now."

An ESPN story published on May 15 shared that an upcoming book entitled "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback" details how Williams and his father, Carl, explored options that could prevent the 23-year-old from ending up with the Bears. However, the ESPN piece also mentioned that Williams changed his mind and became convinced that "he could be part of a process to turn the franchise around" following a predraft visit to the Bears' facility. 

Williams flashed promise in the opening month and a half of his rookie campaign, as he helped the Bears win four of their first six games. However, Chicago then suffered 10 consecutive losses, and Williams ultimately had to deal with the in-season firings of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus.

As the 2024 Bears came apart, Johnson was serving as the offensive coordinator for a Detroit Lions side that claimed the NFC North division title with a record of 15-2. On Wednesday, he suggested that he wants Williams and others inside the Chicago locker room to put all that has gone wrong for the club in recent years behind them. 

"I wasn't here last year, so I can't speak too much in terms of what it was like before he got here and when he got here last year," Johnson added about Williams. "But from my four months on the job, he's been outstanding to work with, and we just are focusing on getting a little better every day."

It remains to be seen if the information revealed by book author Seth Wickersham will cause at least some Chicago players to lose faith in Williams. Johnson likely didn't imagine when he accepted the Bears job that he'd be facing a potential crisis before the start of training camp.