Ex-NFL player makes worrisome prediction about Bears' Caleb Williams after book controversy

The revelation that Caleb Williams and his family allegedly looked into attempting to prevent the Chicago Bears from making the quarterback the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft has become a massive story hovering over the organization this spring. 

During a Friday appearance on Chicago sports radio station 670 The Score, former player and current NFL analyst Ross Tucker offered a bold prediction regarding whether or not Williams will be Chicago's QB1 three years from now. 

"I probably would bet 'No,' if I had to bet yes or no right now just based on what we've seen so far," Tucker said during the segment, Sports Illustrated's Gene Chamberlain shared. 

An ESPN story published on May 15 revealed that Seth Wickersham's upcoming book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback includes information about how Williams and his father searched for ways to avoid the 23-year-old's having his NFL rights obtained by the Bears in the spring of 2024. The piece also noted that Williams experienced a change of heart following a predraft visit to the Bears.

"We can have an argument about whether or not it's an issue that [Williams] and his dad were thinking about trying to avoid the Bears," Tucker said. "I don't have any, like, problem with that. ... Why would you tell a writer this? Why would you be talking about this with a writer and then not go through with it? I mean, that's my biggest issue. I feel like he either gets really bad advice or his awareness rating on 'Madden' needs to go down like 30 points because I also thought it was a really, really poor decision for him to not address it this week."

While Williams hasn't yet addressed the book or the ESPN article, first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson has insisted the second-year pro "is very proud to be" with the club. Johnson later mentioned that he and Williams are "both really looking forward to turning the page on years prior and focusing on the here and now." 

That said, Tucker suggested Williams did more harm than good by avoiding media members.

"He should have, Monday, come on and, 'Yep, you know, my dad was talking to a guy back then. I had some concerns, but when I came out here to Halas Hall and met everybody, I thought, nope, you know what? I want to do this. But, yeah, we had some concerns early on just because of the history.' Boom. It's over," Tucker added about how Williams has handled the potential controversy. 

Eventually, Williams will hear questions about his commitment to the Bears beyond the terms of his rookie contract. One wonders if what he says or doesn't say will impact his standing in the locker room ahead of his second NFL season.