Bears Deny Caleb Williams Made ‘Shocking Demands’ During Contract Talks

The Chicago Bears have their sights set on preparing for training camp with the Hall of Fame Game around the corner. Of course, the spotlight was on USC phenom Caleb Williams as he was one of the last rookies to sign a contract – Rome Odunze, J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner joined Williams on the list of names that didn’t sign a rookie deal.

According to media reports, the rookie quarterback didn’t want a franchise tag when his deal expired, but Chicago denied the request. Williams also declined to go into depth regarding his contract. Some reporters characterized William’s demands as “shocking.”

Bears’ GM Ryan Poles considered talks with Williams as a “positive” process that didn’t go in unexpected directions. “Just for general knowledge, it’s very common for different things to be asked for or anything like that,” Poles commented. “It wasn’t anything shocking in terms of what was being asked. At the end of the day, I’m glad it worked out and was pretty standard.”

Aside from contract negotiations, Chicago needs to turn the page and await the start of the 2024 season. The Bears have expectations to compete for a playoff spot since they revamped their offense. Keenan Allen and DeAndre Swift headline the roster makeover as they are perfect compliments to D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet while being reliable targets to Williams. Williams has the nod of “franchise quarterback,” meaning that he needs to excel each year to provide the Bears to dwell out from the bottom of the league.