Former Bengals QB Boomer Esiaison lives up to his name in angry rant over latest Caleb Williams story
There was a time when Caleb Williams and his family didn't want him to be drafted by the Chicago Bears. Caleb's father, Carl Williams, was quoted saying "Chicago is the place where quarterbacks go to die" in an interview with ESPN's Seth Wickersham, and the eventual first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft wanted to play […]
There was a time when Caleb Williams and his family didn't want him to be drafted by the Chicago Bears. Caleb's father, Carl Williams, was quoted saying "Chicago is the place where quarterbacks go to die" in an interview with ESPN's Seth Wickersham, and the eventual first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft wanted to play for the Minnesota Vikings. The family constructed a plan to ensure the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner would avoid landing in the Windy City.
Williams didn't go through with the plan, feeling as if it ultimately wouldn't work, and embraced the Bears drafting him with the first pick of last year's draft.
The story of how it almost went down, however, did not sit well with former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiaison.
Boomer Esiaison lays in to Caleb Williams' 'entitlement'
Esiaison held nothing back when discussing the story on his radio show "Boomer and Gio" Friday morning, chastising Williams' entitlement and bestowing pressure on him to succeed under new head coach Ben Johnson.
"When you think about this, I think a lot of these kids and their parents are nowadays, the level of entitlement is breathtaking, and it's no wonder why he failed initially, and it's no wonder why the coach got fired," Esiaison said. "So now they go out and get an offensive coach in Ben Johnson, and you know what? Now it's on his (expletive). It's going to be on his (expletive) to live up to these so called lofty expectations that he has for himself and that his father has for his son. And I understand that there could be a discussion, 'Hey, this is where quarterbacks go to die.' Well, go fix it. Be the reason that the team is going to turn it around, and you be the player that you think you are."
Esiaison wasn't done. The former Bengals QB from 1984-92 and briefly in 1997 also gave Williams, and quarterbacks in general, a directive and proceeded to involve himself in the story.
"I would just tell them, just keep your mouth shut," Esiason continued. "You're going into the greatest league that there's ever been for the sport that we all love. You're going to have a chance one day to make $500 million because guys like me and guys before me all went on strike, so you could actually make more money. So keep your pie holes shut, and go out and play football, and earn your keep and earn your respect."
Esiaison clearly has a stance on what Williams nearly did. The details of the story predate Williams being drafted by the Bears and playing out his rookie season. Every detail that Esiaison criticized pertained to a plan that was not executed at the end of the day.
That didn't stop the 64-year old from going off on the now 23-year old passer.
Esiaison is absolutely entitled to his opinion on how Williams should've initially approached the situation. He's a radio host and with that comes the task of creating entertainment. What stands out about his rant is how he made it about himself at the tail end.
The idea that Williams owes Esiaison and other quarterbacks who've come before him to keep quiet and go where he's told is a bit narcissistic. Will Williams be able to make $500 million if he can't prove to be a franchise quarterback due to a lackluster supporting cast around him? That's been a consistent issue for the Bears in their long history.
Esiaison was in the league during the 1987 lockout, which lasted a month before players began crossing the picket line. The NFLPA failed to achieve a new collective bargaining agreement, so the very strike he referenced didn't even work at the time! It took six more years for players to gain free agency and earned percentages of future revenue from the league.
Again, Esiaison is entitled to his own opinion here, but one of Cincinnati's best quarterbacks of all-time didn't need to make it about himself at the end. That's a very "Boomer" move from a man who goes by the same name.
