Bogus Rumor: Bears veterans did NOT ask coaches to bench Caleb Williams
There's no truth to the rumor that Chicago Bears veterans asked coaches to bench Caleb Williams.
It's incredible how powerful one tweet can be, especially when it comes to the Chicago Bears and the status of quarterback Caleb Williams.
Marc Silverman, widely known as "Silvy" from the Waddle and Silvy show, sent this tweet on Tuesday about Bears veterans asking the coaches to bench Caleb Williams, and it took on a life of its own:
After talking to a few people with knowledge of the situation, players went to Matt Eberflus & Ryan Poles asking them to make a change at offensive coordinator.
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) November 12, 2024
There have also been a few veteran players requesting Bagent starts. https://t.co/h3QSrhZjQ1
What's most frustrating about this situation is that Silvy refers to "people with knowledge of the situation" as his source. Not players, not coaches, just people.
Some internet sleuths are suggesting Silvy's source was Tyson Bagent's father, who's been known to spread fake news to benefit his son. Yikes.
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, who's as locked in with the Bears as any team insider, suggested Silvy's report was, well, a non-story.
.@BradBiggs on reports and speculation that Bears veterans asked the coaching staff to bench Caleb Williams: “I don’t believe that happened. I don’t think there’s a story there.”
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 14, 2024
Listen on @mullyhaugh: https://t.co/r8OpDQgeGl pic.twitter.com/asVSc3VFMb
Yet, it is a story. Pro Football Talk published an article about it, and Bears fans across social media have been forced to fend off vicious attacks from the anti-Caleb tribe. It's a brutal reality of how an irresponsible and flat-out inaccurate tweet can even make its way into Halas Hall. On Wednesday, Caleb Williams fielded questions about whether he still feels the support of his teammates.
"I think I got full support from them," Williams said. "I’ve gotten texts or calls or people coming up to me, with this situation that just happened, coming up to me and saying, ‘We got your back, we’re with you.’ You know, things like that and, ‘Let’s go.’ That kind of mindset and attitude has been what it’s been this past couple days. And that’s kind of what it’s only been.”
Sure, Williams hasn't been perfect. He's going through the normal ups and downs of a rookie season. But there's no doubt he's shown glimpses of what made him the first overall pick, and as long as the clickbait, attention-seeking talking heads don't get in the way, he'll be just fine.
