Caleb Williams addresses getting pranked by fake Ben Johnson, Amon-Ra St. Brown cracks up

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams recently fell victim to a prank in which a fan pretending to be Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson sent him fake texts and FaceTimed him.

The fan texted Williams saying that Johnson was ready to take the Bears’ head coaching job once Detroit’s playoff run ended, and that led to a FaceTime call. Another fan then encouraged Williams to come to the Miami Dolphins before apologizing. After Williams hung up, the duo celebrated the successful prank.

Williams discussed the prank on the “St. Brown Podcast” with Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick said he was “on the game” at the time and not focused on the texts he was receiving.

"It was a classic prank. It was a grade A, S-tier prank. I gotta give them props."

Bears QB Caleb Williams gives props to the pranksters that tricked him into thinking Ben Johnson was taking the Bears head coaching job. pic.twitter.com/U77MNjuwVN

— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) January 15, 2025

“My reason was because they’re doing the interview thing. And I was on the game, so I wasn’t focused,” Williams said. “And they were doing the interview the next day, so I thought they already had the interview. I ain’t gonna lie, it was a classy prank. It was a grade A, S tier prank. I gotta give him props, I wasn’t locked in at the moment.”

Caleb Williams falls victim to ‘grade A’ prank

Williams is unclear how the fans got his number, but that won’t be a problem moving forward. He told the St. Brown brothers that he changed his number after the prank.

“I’ve had the number for probably 15 years; I don’t have it no more,” Williams said. “New number. But I had it for 15 years and I don’t know, somebody must have gave it to him, someone said something, or he got lucky and dialed the number. … That whole night I was getting texts, I was obviously spam called from all my friends just like, ‘No way, you did this blah blah blah.’ I didn’t respond to one text. I was so mad. Pissed.”

Johnson’s name has been a prominent one in Chicago’s search to replace Matt Eberflus. The architect of the Lions’ high-powered offense, he interviewed virtually with Chicago this past Saturday as he goes through the process. 

Williams is coming off a rollercoaster rookie year in Chicago. He threw for 3,541 yards – the sixth-most in Bears history – and 20 touchdowns, along with just six interceptions. Those numbers came despite an offensive coordinator change and, later, a head coach change mid-season. His development is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle as Chicago goes through its lengthy list of interviews.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.