Robert Griffin III Wants Caleb Williams to 'Pull an Eli Manning' And Demand the Bears Don't Draft Him

Over the weekend the Chicago Bears signaled to everyone they were zeroed in on Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft by shipping Justin Fields off to Pittsburgh in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2025. The news does not come as a surprise by any stretch of the imagination but the intrigue technically still existed until the Fields trade. Now we can all stop hedging when we talk about what the Bears are going to do in the draft and where Williams, one of the more talented quarterback prospects in recent memory, will end up starting his professional career.

On a related note there was some drama about Williams maybe not being so thrilled about becoming a Bear a few months ago. Colin Cowherd ended up suggesting as much on his show before he was asked to backtrack by Williams' camp and clarify that the player himself has no qualms about Chicago. This was seemingly put to bed at the NFL Combine in February, when Williams told ESPN he would be happy to play in the Windy City. It could very well have been lip service and an attempt to avoid controversy while hiding his true feelings but if Williams really did not want to become a Bear then telling everyone as soon as possible seems like the right way to go about it. The fact that he did not when given the opportunity means he really does not care.

This knowledge did not stop ESPN's Robert Griffin III from releasing a video on Twitter on Monday morning proclaiming that Williams should borrow a move from Eli Manning's book and force the Bears to trade him after how poorly they handled the Fields situation.

The funny thing is that the Bears actually boast a far stronger roster than the average team picking No. 1 overall and are quite well-suited to welcoming in a rookie quarterback. They have a top-10 draft pick on the offensive line, two veteran wideouts with a rich history of production between them, a defense that played as well as any down the stretch of last season, and an additional top-10 pick in this year's draft. From a football perspective there isn't another team in the top half of the draft that Williams should prefer based purely on the quality of the structure that would be around him.

And the Bears definitely did not nail the whole Fields saga but the way it ended is actually the most commendable aspect from a player's perspective. If the reports are to be believed Chicago intentionally chose to not maximize their return in a trade and instead settled on a place where Fields had a legit shot to compete at a starting gig. I personally am not so sure that they didn't just misread the trade market and didn't have a better offer but it is certainly true that he ended up on a team where he could realistically start. It's fair to criticize the team for failing to secure an asset that can help in the immediate future but from fans and analysts care more about that than players who can easily envision themselves in Fields' shoes.

Chicago has not been an exemplary organization in recent seasons (or decades) but things are, actually, looking up for the first time in a long time. Suggesting Williams force his way out despite all the evidence to the contrary is not a serious discussion.