Caleb Williams is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. One former NFL quarterback said he should refuse to play for the Bears, the team with that top pick.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III said in a video posted to X that Williams “should do this.”Pull Eli Manning” and refused to play in Chicago.
In 2004, Manning told the then-San Diego Chargers not to draft him because he didn’t like the direction the team was going.
The Chargers still drafted Manning, but soon traded him to the Giants for Philip Rivers, the Giants’ third-round pick in 2004 and first- and fifth-round picks in 2005. exchanged with.
Griffin believes Williams should do the same, and cited Justin Fields as proof of that belief.
“Given everything that happened with Justin Fields, Caleb Williams really looked at it and said, ‘This is the organization that I care about the most, and they’re going to develop me into the player that I want to be. ‘Can I say, ‘I’m going to help you with this?'” said Griffin, who was drafted No. 2 by Washington in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Fields, the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was just traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025, where Fields played over 50% of the Steelers’ appearances. In that case, he would be selected 4th.
Griffin’s main issue seems to be the return the Bears got from Fields, suggesting the Bears should have brought back a player who could help the team right away.
He ignored the fact that Fields’ value wasn’t as high as originally thought and that a huge return wasn’t possible even though the 25-year-old Fields had shown signs of growth over the past two seasons. It seems there is.
“I thought (Bears GM) Ryan Pauls was having a great offseason until the Justin Fields trade was made. They traded Justin Fields to get some players back to help the team this year. “I did,” Griffin said. “Because Ryan Pauls and (head coach) Matt Eberflus are in a lame duck season. They’re going to get fired if they don’t win this year.”
The Bears have spent the offseason in win-now mode, adding to the offensive line that should help Williams transition to the NFL.
Chicago signed running back D’Andre Swift in free agency and traded veteran receiver Keenan Allen and a fourth-round pick to the Chargers.
This isn’t the first time the idea has been suggested that Williams isn’t excited about the idea of the Bears drafting him.
But Williams sought to dispel any notion of dissatisfaction, praising the Bears in a recent interview with ESPN.
“I would be excited if the Bears drafted me,” Williams said. “If they trade picks and I get drafted by someone else, I’d be just as excited. As for Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented team. We have offense and defense. I think anyone would be excited in a situation like that.”
Williams, who played one year at Oklahoma and then two years at the University of Southern California, threw for more than 4,500 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2022.
He returned to USC for one more year at the collegiate level, but the Trojans had a disappointing season, finishing 8-5 after starting 6-0.
Williams still had a great season, throwing for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
