With the release of the Chicago Bears' 2025 schedule, ESPN dropped a bold prediction about Caleb Williams' second season in the league.

With Williams being the clear-cut top pick coming out of USC, Carl told several agents in 2024 he didn’t want his son to play for the Bears, who had the No. 1 pick. Part of his efforts to avoid Chicago included consulting Archie Manning, father of Eli Manning, who helped orchestrate Eli’s trade from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Giants.

A forthcoming book by ESPN reporter Seth Wickersham says Caleb Williams and his family were so concerned about the quarterback being taken by the Bears with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft that they considered finding a way to circumvent the draft entirely.