Second-year Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been accused of hiding a learning disability that hindered his progress as he struggled over his rookie season with the team.
Go Long’s Tyler Dunne made the accusation in a three-part online series that has put team general manager Ryan Poles in the spotlight.
Claiming to have spoken with 32 team insiders, Dunne reports anonymous coaches’ belief that Williams suffers from dyslexia – a neurological disorder that impacts language-based learning. What’s more, Dunne claims Poles was aware of the issue with Williams when he drafted the 2022 Heisman winner out of USC with the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
‘That early, coaches could sense that he’d struggle with basic huddle calls and forget to motion players,’ Dunne wrote, per Heavy.com. ‘And it wasn’t until later — right around that second-to-last game of the season — that coaches say they learned their quarterback had a learning disability.
‘Multiple Bears sources tell Go Long they’ve seen evidence that Williams has dyslexia. They also believe that the GM, who has access to everything, was well aware of this condition before the Bears made the quarterback their first overall pick.’
Carl Williams, Caleb’s father and agent, did return Daily Mail’s phone call seeking comment but refused to speak on the record, saying he doesn’t talk to reporters.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) takes a snap from center Drew Dalman in warmups
The team is also accused of dumbing down pre-snap calls at the line of scrimmage and the verbiage of the playbook in order to help the struggling Williams.
‘Coaches deleted words out of the play calls,’ Dunne wrote. ‘That didn’t help. Coaches tried going no-huddle to limit the number of times Williams would need to regurgitate those play calls. This wasn’t sustainable. All while a convoy of assistants nursed the rookie in every way imaginable.
‘In earsplitting unison, they insist they’ve never seen a quarterback receive more help than Caleb Williams.’
That Williams received significant help contradicts Seth Wickersham, who reported in his book American Kings that nobody from the team helped to teach the young quarterback how to study game film.
Dunne spoke to one Bears staffer who emphatically defended former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who is now working in Jacksonville after being let go following the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus.
‘Shane went overboard in trying to help him,’ the coach told Dunne. ‘Shane tried to, well, ‘This is what they did at USC.’ In my mind, I’m looking at it, ‘It’s the NFL. Who gives a s*** what they did at USC?’ He was bending over backwards trying to figure out the best way to reach him.’
In addition to Williams’ father, Carl, Daily Mail has sought comment from another representative for the quarterback as well as Bears spokespeople.
Williams wasn’t completely dreadful as a rookie. He tossed 20 touchdowns with a net gain of 4,030 yards, while surrendering only six interceptions for the season.
He did, however, take 68 sacks, while second-overall pick Jayden Daniels and even No. 3 selection Drake Maye had varying degrees of success in Washington and New England, respectively.
The Bears finished just 5-12 and have since added rookie targets like tight end Colston Loveland and receiver Luther Burden III to help Williams’ progression in his second season.
