The Chicago Bears endured a tough loss on Sunday Night Football against a really good Houston Texans team. For most, the story of the game was the two quarterbacks. C.J. Stroud had a solid night, though the Bear’s defense held him to only 19 points, including three in the second half. Caleb Williams, on the other hand, endured a persistent beating. He was sacked seven times, hit 11 others, and wasn’t getting much help from his offensive line or supporting cast.
After the game, the two quarterbacks met on the field to shake hands. Stroud was caught on microphones telling Williams he would do great things in the future. At one point during the exchange, the rookie thanked him and started to walk off, thinking Stroud was done. Then the Texans quarterback brought him back to offer some additional advice: Learn from his mistakes and stop taking so many hits. Williams thanked him again and moved away. It seemed like an innocent enough exchange.
Others didn’t see it that way, accusing Williams of trying to brush Stroud off.
He shook Stroud’s hand, listening to what he said. It was natural for him to start walking away when it looked like the Texans QB was done talking. He didn’t ignore him when asked to stay put for a second and thanked him again after the advice. Yet, people talk like the rookie kept rolling his eyes and sighing while Stroud talked. The reality is Williams had just lost a tough game and was probably in a lot of pain after all the hits he took that night. One could be a little more empathetic to his situation.
Stroud certainly was, which is why he offered those words of encouragement in the first place. This entire stuff about body language needs to stop. Caleb Williams is a human being. He doesn’t have to act in a specific way to show respect to another player. There was nothing wrong with how he interacted with Stroud. He was respectful and thankful. Feel free to watch what happened with Shadeur Sanders after his recent game against Colorado State. That is disrespectful. This is a non-story.
