Chicago Bears 2024 Season Left Caleb Williams Dropping 'A Few Tears'

The critics who went nuts when Caleb Williams cried in his mother's arms after a University of Southern California loss in 2023 are going to come out of the woodwork again because the now-Chicago Bears quarterback admits he spent much of his rookie season crying as well.

Bears Made Caleb Williams Cry

In a longform piece for which Williams talked with Esquire, the quarterback admitted what seemed obvious to anyone with eyes: The Bears' 5-12 season that led to the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus and much of his staff, and featured Williams getting sacked an NFL-high 68 times, wore on Williams.

"When I got home, I got in my bed. I just dropped a few tears," Williams said. "And I was just so beat-up mentally, physically, spiritually."

Remember that long ago Hootie and the Blowfish song in which Darius Rucker sings about how the "Dolphins make me cry?"

The Bears' 2024 season made Williams cry. 

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws an incomplete pass as he is tackled by Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) in the fourth quarter during their football game Sunday, January 5, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Rough Season For Bears And Williams

But it apparently also sealed his determination to avoid a repeat.

"I’m going to work my tail off to never be in that situation again," he said.

Williams, it should be noted, had a solid rookie season if one weighs the statistics.

He completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

But, again, the Bears were horrible. They started out 4-2 and then things crashed like the 1929 stock market.

The team lost 10 consecutive games from Oct. 27 through Dec. 26. 

Two months without a victory.

So one supposes there were Bears fans crying as well.

USC QB Caleb Williams doesn't sound interested in sitting out the rest of the season. He discussed his future plans. (Credit: Getty Images)

Final USC Season A Disappointment

And about that crying thing again.

Williams was indeed criticized for weeping in his mother's arms after an especially disappointing loss in November of 2023.

Me? I saw it as the kid being so invested in being successful and winning that he just couldn't contain his emotions after a failure.

And one supposes all the failure he and his teammates endured last year with the Bears similarly got to him, although this time he reserved those emotions for private moments.

Nov 28, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws a pass against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Williams Doesn't Care What You Think

Not that any of it matters to Williams. He's obviously admitting to crying last year.

And he says he doesn't really worry if pundits feel a certain way about that or anything else relating to him. 

"The thing is, I don’t think about what other people have to say about me," he said. "I can’t please everybody, so it’s not something I’m trying to do. 

"I do have people in mind that I want to make sure that they know I care and know I work my tail off. And that’s my teammates, my family, people that actually know me. And then from there I couldn’t care less, is how I go about it."

Nothing wrong with that.

Because there's nothing wrong with declining to carry the burden of a stranger's opinions all the time.