Former Giants WR Amani Toomer Slams Caleb Williams For Asking Teammates To Clean Locker Room
Caleb Williams is embracing his leadership role as the new QB1 for the Chicago Bears. But former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer thinks the rookie may be overstepping his bounds.
Earlier this week, Bears veteran safety Kevin Byard revealed that Williams asked his teammates to be more organized and clean up after themselves in the locker room. He said that Williams took a moment to address the issue after practice on Monday.
"First thing he said was, 'Hey, man, we're all grown men here, right?'" Byard told 670 The Score. "He was like, 'We're getting a little too sloppy. We're leaving water bottles, towels and all types of things around. Custodians have a lot of square footage that they have to cover in this whole building. Let's try to help them out by cleaning up after ourselves.'"
Byard — a well-respected two-time All-Pro entering his ninth NFL season — had nothing but good things to say about Williams. And honestly, asking your teammates not to act like total slobs seems like a pretty reasonable request.
"When you want to be a great player, you always focus on the little details — not even just the details of the play, but the details of everything around you," Byard said.
But Toomer begs to differ.
Amani Toomer Loses It On Caleb Williams
"He’s Russell Wilson 2.0. This is not gonna go over well," Toomer said on Thursday's episode of The Carton Show. "Some rookie’s gonna come in who hasn’t played one snap, talking, wearing the fingernail polish, now he’s gonna come in here and tell me, who has been here, been through the struggle, that I need to clean up?"
I mean, Russell Wilson did win a Super Bowl in his second season — something the Bears haven't sniffed in quite some time. So maybe that's not such a bad thing.
"No, how about you rookie? How about you clean up after me? Don’t give me this crap," Toomer continued. "I don’t like it at all. I feel like rookies should earn their respect. Just because you got drafted No. 1 doesn’t mean nothing to me."
This feels like a pretty silly overreaction on Toomer's part. But Caleb Williams is certainly no stranger to criticism for his off-the-field behavior.
RELATED: Caleb Williams Explains His Painted Nails And Draws Portrait Of Being A Manly Man
The reality for the highly-touted No. 1 overall pick is that the proof will lie in the proverbial pudding.
If the Bears stink it up in 2024, Toomer and other critics will only get louder. If Williams puts up Rookie-of-the-Year numbers and takes Chicago to the playoffs (a la C.J. Stroud), not one person is going to care that he asked his teammates to pick up their empty water bottles.