Ex-NFL QB wants Caleb Williams to pull an Eli Manning and deliver Bears an ultimatum ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
The Chicago Bears are all but assured of taking Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, but one former NFL QB doesn't believe they'd be a good situation for the USC product. He went so far as to say that Williams should outright decline to play for them.
Robert Griffin III was a former top product like Williams is, and he believes the presumptive number one overall selection should emulate Eli Manning in declining to play for the team that selected him.
Manning was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, but he refused to play there. He didn't sign and was then traded to the New York Giants, the team he played the rest of his career for.
Griffin said:
“Caleb Williams should pull an Eli Manning and demand that the Chicago Bears do not draft him No. 1 overall. After everything that has happened with Justin Fields, can Caleb Williams really look at that and say ‘You know what, this is the organization that has my best interests at heart and they’re going to help develop me into the player that I want to be.’"
Griffin knows that Williams wants "to be legendary", and to win and set records, but believes Chicago may hinder that. He pointed to the Justin Fields situation:
"After the Bears took Justin Fields, the 11th pick in the draft, and turned him into a sixth-round pick in the 2025 Draft by trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, can Caleb Williams look at that and say ‘You know what, this organization is going to get me where I want to go’?”
Griffin isn't a fan of how the Bears treated Fields, and he has cautioned Williams to be careful when signing with them, assuming they do select him.
Are the Bears drafting Caleb Williams?
There are three top QB prospects. Many scouts believe that if not for Caleb Williams, Drake Maye would be the presumptive first pick. Jayden Daniels, the reigning Heisman trophy winner, might also be in play.
However, it has long been assumed that Williams would be the top pick, and that has not changed. He is the odds-on favorite to be selected. Per Fox Sports, he's -4000 to be the pick following the Fields trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers.