Bears' Caleb Williams Says Reaction in Viral Video of Throwing Drill Was 'Fake Anger'

Chicago Bears second-year quarterback Caleb Williams commented Thursday on the viral training camp video in which he seemingly showed a great deal of frustration following a throwing drill.

The video, which took social media by storm over the weekend, featured Williams yelling and stomping away after he missed four straight throws on a quarterback target net:

When asked about the video Thursday during post-practice media availability, Williams downplayed its seriousness, telling reporters: "I just laugh at it. … I was competing, I missed it. It was fake anger that I showed. Being with your friends … you might use some choice words with your buddies."

Williams' assessment of the video came after Bears general manager Ryan Poles gave his take on it to ESPN's Courtney Cronin on Thursday, saying: "I actually think it's pretty cool. I knew there was a bad practice. I've seen clips on Twitter. I didn't know it was a national crisis of Caleb struggling."

The 23-year-old Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft following a strong collegiate career at USC that saw him win the Heisman Trophy in 2022.

There was a lot put on his plate right away, as he started all 17 games during his rookie campaign, posting a 5-12 record.

While the team struggled as a whole, leading to the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus, Williams had a fairly productive year given the circumstances.

Williams completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions, while also rushing for 489 yards.

Now, Williams is seemingly in an even better position to succeed in his second season due to a combination of the talent around him and coaching.

Wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D'Andre Swift are back in the fold, plus the Bears selected tight end Colston Loveland in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, and they overhauled their offensive line with the additions of Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson on the interior.

On top of that, Ben Johnson is the Bears' new head coach after serving as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator for three seasons.

With Johnson calling the plays, the Lions ranked fourth, third and second in total offense, and fifth, fifth and first in scoring offense.

There is perhaps no better coach to help Williams take the next step in 2025, and if he does that, nobody will be talking about training camp videos several weeks from now.