The Chicago Bears are six days away from reporting to training camp. Yet two of their most important pieces remain un-signed. Quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Oduze still haven’t agreed on their rookie contracts. Many have started growing concerns that both could miss the start of camp, putting them further behind in preparation for the upcoming season. Adam Schefter reported that Williams especially is a challenge because he is seeking ways to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement to find more favorable terms for his deal.
Complicating matters further is that he has no official agent. Williams is handling negotiations himself. Or at least that was the belief. The quarterback finally offered some clarity when Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune spoke to him at his charity event, Caleb Cares.
Basically, he stated that while he may not have an agent, he’s still hiring a lawyer and business team to handle the talks with GM Ryan Poles and the organization. It isn’t clear who might be leading that group, but Williams seems adamant that he has no direct involvement in hammering out the details.
The bottom line is that he has to sign the contract before the report date. Bryce Young didn’t sign his contract with the Carolina Panthers until July 21st last year, so there is still time before this becomes a genuine crisis. Poles has a reputation for getting deals done before they become truly problematic. He proved it last year with Cole Kmet and Montez Sweat and then again earlier this year with Jaylon Johnson. It is best to trust him to navigate the situation. He likely understood the challenges of negotiating the contract when he drafted Williams.
Chicago is no stranger to holdouts from their 1st round picks. Cedric Benson did it in 2005. Roquan Smith did it in 2018. Both went on to become good players, though Benson did so with another team. Even if Caleb Williams misses some time early in camp, it likely isn’t going to have a catastrophic impact on his career. He may simply taken a little longer to absorb the offense. The best thing to do is to let the process play out. Neither side seems concerned about the situation, which should be encouraging.
