Caleb Williams explains not having strong desire to play for Commanders

There were plenty of rumors and reports about what Caleb Williams would want when it came time to go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. That included speculation about his hometown Washington Commanders, and he addressed that chatter during an appearance on Pardon My Take this week.

Williams – who, of course, went to the Chicago Bears as the top pick – compared his situation to that of fellow DMV native Kevin Durant. In a 2017 interview, Durant said he didn’t choose to play for his hometown Washington Wizards because he didn’t want to be so close to home.

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Williams said he had a similar mindset and wanted to keep his focus on the task at hand. While he didn’t entirely want to rule out playing for the Commanders, he wanted a different experience, and he’s getting that in Chicago.

“I wasn’t against going home, as people said also throughout the process,” Williams said. “It would be like KD. KD didn’t really want to go home and it wasn’t because, necessarily, the team or anything like that.

“It was more of the, like, everybody in my family is there. … Family or it’s the family that’s not family that I’ve known for so long or been around or haven’t known or the new family that everybody talks about. It was more or less having to deal with all of that and make it a huge distraction for me and take away from the thing that I enjoy doing, I love doing every single day.”

Washington, of course, ended up taking Jayden Daniels at No. 2 after Caleb Williams went at No. 1. Both quarterbacks were also named the starters this year and are set to square off Oct. 27.

Williams made a strong impression during the preseason with his ability to improvise and make big plays – both of which stood out at USC. The hope is he’ll be the quarterback Bears have long waited to see, and his playmaking ability provided quite the appetizer ahead of the regular season opener.

Williams will not play in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, which means he won’t take the field again until Sept. 8. That’s when the Bears will take on the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field to kick off the 2024 season.