Bears GM: 'No Concerns' About Rumors Caleb Williams Doesn't Want to Play in Chicago

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles isn't worried about any speculation that USC quarterback and potential No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams doesn't want to play in the Windy City.

"No. No. No concerns about that at all," he told reporters Tuesday. "I would love to know why, if that was the case. Like I said, I think as a young quarterback, and I've been around it, the infrastructure is important, and I think we've made really good progress in terms of having really good infrastructure for whoever were to come in or if Justin [Fields] were to stay here as well."

The idea of Williams not wanting to play for the Bears picked up traction earlier this month when Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports said the quarterback didn't like the idea of suiting up for Chicago.

However, Cowherd quickly walked that back the next day and said Williams' camp reached out to clarify that wasn't the case.

Poles isn't worried about it either, which means he and the rest of the front office can focus on a decision that will set the tone for the Bears and a number of other teams this offseason. After all, Chicago has the No. 1 overall pick of the draft and can choose Williams if it prefers.

It could also decide it wants to continue building around Fields and trade the pick, much like it did last season. Trading the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver DJ Moore and draft capital is how the Bears ended up with the No. 1 selection in the upcoming draft.

Perhaps Poles sees a golden opportunity to address multiple positions of need by trading the pick for what figures to be a significant return.

Williams' ceiling suggests he could be a generational quarterback, and a team such as the Washington Commanders may overpay the Bears for the right to move up from the No. 2 pick just to choose him.

Or the Bears will ultimately decide that such a ceiling is too good to pass up, especially since there is now a better infrastructure of playmakers and offensive linemen in place than there was when they selected Fields in the first round in 2021.

With Moore, tight end Cole Kmet and a young offensive line with multiple building blocks in place for a team that went 5-3 in its last eight games of the 2023 season, Chicago is better suited for immediate success than most teams choosing No. 1 overall for a young quarterback.

That infrastructure is a primary reason Poles isn't concerned about Williams' desire to go to Chicago if he is the No. 1 pick.