The Chicago Bears technically defeated the Houston Texans in last night’s Hall of Fame Game. (Of course, mother nature put a premature stop to the relatively well-played game.)
First overall pick Caleb Williams did not play for the Bears. While the decision to “rest” him didn’t come as a surprise, most people felt he would have benefited greatly from playing.
Speaking of Williams, he has certainly made his presence felt in the organization.
Reports indicate that Williams recently took it upon himself to address some of his teammates’ disorganized habits around the team’s facilities.
“First thing he said was, āHey, man, we’re all grown men here, right?ā” safety Kevin Byard told 670 The Score. “He was like, āWe’re getting a little too sloppy. We’re leaving water bottles, towels, and all types of things around.
“Custodians have a lot of square footage that they have to cover in this whole building. Let’s try to help them out by cleaning up after ourselves.’
“When you want to be a great player, you always focus on the little details – not even just the details of the play, but the details of everything around you.”
While some people speculated that Williams was being a little “forced” with his good-guy routine, the message behind his words is certainly a respectable one.
After all, there’s nothing worse than inconsiderate people who leave their trash everywhere.
Having said that, one former NFL great took offense to Williams’ message to his teammates.
“Heās Russell Wilson 2.0. This is not gonna go over well,” New York Giants legend Amani Toomer said on FS1.
“If you came in the locker room, Iāve been in this locker room for eight years, and some rookie is going to come in, who hasnāt played one snapā¦heās going to come in here and tell me, whoās been here, and been through the struggle, that I need to clean up?
“No, rookie, how about you clean up after me? How about that?”
While he may end up in the Hall of Fame one day, we all know what Toomer means when he says “Russell Wilson 2.0.”
Despite the mixed reactions, Williams has a chance to silence his critics and prove his leadership where it matters most – on the field.
Speaking of which, veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis, who played with Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers from 2018-2022, had nothing but high praise for his new quarterback.
āThis guy wants to be great. You can tell if he doesnāt do something 100 percent correct, heās correcting himself,ā Lewis said of Williams.
āHe can make every throw, a little Aaron Rodgers-esque. Heās just different, man. Iām looking forward to him going out there and competing and showing everybody what heās been working on, because even within his first week heās doing things that you donāt see from a young guy, and the sky is the limit for him.
ā(He) asks all of the right questions, heās a leader naturally, he doesnāt walk around acting like he knows it all. Iām impressed so far.ā
What are your thoughts on Williams telling his teammates to clean up after themselves.
Was that leadership? … Or was he way out-of-line since he’s a rookie who has yet to earn his stripes???