NFL analyst Collin Cowherd is spilling more tea about where Caleb Williams wants to play next season.
"I do think it's possible that Washington trades up and Chicago allows Washington to trade up," Cowherd said on his show, "The Herd" Thursday. "Because Caleb and his group do not want to go to Chicago."
Cowherd walked back his comments on Friday after receiving a call from Williams' camp.
"There are concerns [about the Bears] and I pointed them out yesterday on the show from Caleb Williams and his camp," Cowherd said. "This is not the perfect destination. Washington at No. 2, in my opinion, he's from there, is a much better landing spot.
"But I got a call yesterday from the Caleb Williams camp. ... And they went 'Woah, woah woah! Colin, we don't want to be painted as anti-Chicago. And we don't want to be painted as anti-Bear.' And they made it clear to me that they said 'Listen, we don't want to go to a city that doesn't care. Chicago cares. They're big, loud, they're passionate. They fire coaches all the time. They care. We don't want to go to some sun belt place that you tarp off the upper deck.'"
Rumors have swirled about the projected No. 1 pick's interest in playing for Chicago and whether or not he would have the gall to pull off an Eli Manning situation on draft day and request to play for a different team. On Friday, Cowherd went on 670 The Score's "Parkins & Spiegel Show" to debunk that possibility and make it clear that Williams does not want to be a villain.
"I was told last night [by Williams' camp], Chicago's a big, loud, pressurized city. [He] loves that," Cowherd said. "[Michael] Jordan. Bulls. He likes that. I was told he thinks the defense is really good. He doesn't have to win by shootout. He loves DJ Moore. He thinks the O-line is better than people think. He doesn't think it's a disaster."
Chicago Bears
The pundit did, however, standby his gut-feeling that Williams' camp could — and should — have concern about the Bears.
"If I was his agent, I think I would voice concern about Chicago," he said. "I don't have the confidence Chicago talk show hosts have about Chicago. They've had one winning season in 11 years. They haven't had a top-15 offense in a decade. In a league that's trying to create parity, they break the system. They've never had a great quarterback. Jay Cutler, I think, is your all-time leader. He'd be, like, the Packers' fourth-best quarterback."
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