Bears' Jaylon Johnson again clarifies controversial Caleb Williams comment

Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson once again addressed how he controversially said in March that Caleb Williams "can’t bring that Hollywood stuff into the building" as a rookie quarterback.

"It’s tough for me because even when I did say that, I was never accusing him of being that type of guy," Johnson said about his original comment during a recent appearance on "The Jim Rome Show," as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I think more so … [the interview] got taken out of context. But I feel like even with it being reality, now having him in our locker room and in our building, he’s not like that. I think it’s something that the media and that certain people put on him from the outside looking in."

Williams' alleged "Hollywood" reputation hovered over his status before the Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick and long before Chicago made the USC Trojans star the first overall choice of this year's player-selection process. Following the draft, Johnson revealed that he and Williams had already "cleared the air" regarding any potential issues from the Hollywood comment. He indicated this week that he's a big fan of his new QB1.

"But actually being around him, talking to him, seeing him with his family and different things like that, talking to the rookies — I mean, he’s not like that," Johnson said about Williams' personality. "So I think for me, it’s kind of a weird situation to be able to see him in person and kind of think like, 'What was everybody talking about? What were the issues, the concerns?'"

The Bears named Williams their Week 1 starter in May, and he seemingly impressed teammates such as Johnson throughout springtime workouts.

"I feel like coming to the Bears and the city of Chicago, things that we’re kind of fighting against — it’s really just a hard-nosed city," Johnson explained. "I mean, the fans are hard-nosed, our team is hard-nosed and has kind of been built on that. And I think [Williams is] coming in and fitting in perfectly. We were able to push him as a defense and then be able to see how he bounced back and responded and did certain things back. So, I think he’s fitting in perfect."

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Williams as the betting favorite at +135 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award for the upcoming season. If he is as good or even better than advertised through January, he could lead the Bears to at least a playoff berth in his first pro campaign.