"There was a lot of bulls—t": Caleb Williams looks back on viral rumors on his character

It's the dawn of a new era in the Windy City with the Chicago Bears finally sold on a brand-new franchise quarterback by the name of Caleb Williams.

Williams, the No. 1 pick out of USC in the 2024 NFL draft, was widely expected to be picked by the Bears with their first overall pick, and while the draft is known to throw up some surprises, the Bears stuck by their decision to bring Williams to town.

In the build-up to the draft, though, there were several questions raised about Williams; not his throwing mechanics or his leadership but his character.

Williams addressed those rumors in full during an interview with "Pardon My Take" on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The Bears quarterback said:

“There was a lot of bulls**t [leading up to the draft].

"I don’t get that one [being compared to Prince]. It was just a lot of bulls**t."

Caleb Williams downplays comparisons with Prince

One notable quote that went pretty viral about Williams was when one former NFL scout compared the then-USC signal caller to Prince.

The former NFL scout reportedly told sports writer David Fleming:

"Raw emotion is great, but Caleb's thing? That was ridiculous to me. That threw up major red flags... I will tell you, he scares the sh*t out of a lot of NFL teams too. The book on him is he's just kind of a weird kid. One GM told me it's like if Prince played quarterback."

The Bears rookie addressed those concerns, dismissing them as draft-day mania.

Williams also addressed all the reports slamming him over crying on the sidelines after a loss to Washington in November.

“If we win the Super Bowl, at some point, I’m hoping we have multiple people out there crying tears of joy. So when I lose, I know how important it is that we win these games. Trying to win every game is what we try to do," Williams said.

“If a tear drops, there’s a time and a place for it, but it’s because it’s how much I care about winning or losing,” he added.