Bear Digest

Caleb Williams' Baggage Choice Stirs Hard Knocks Controversy

A brief and partial appearance of what looks like Caleb Williams carrying a purse or handbag in Hard Knocks has fans riled up on social media.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams during warmups at Tom Benson Stadium prior to the Hall of Fame Game.
Caleb Williams during warmups at Tom Benson Stadium prior to the Hall of Fame Game. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Hard Knocks' opening episode didn't really catch the attention of the Bears themselves.

Several said they didn't even watch it.

Some football fans found something to get stirred up about, though.

Shane Waldron, T.J. Edwards and Gervon Dexter all said they hadn't watched the first episode of the HBO series depicting behind-the-scenes situations at Halas Hall.

The scene causing a stir was a conversation Caleb Williams was having with Matt Eberflus and when Williams got up to leave it appeared he was holding onto a purse or "man bag" of some sort.

This all traces back to the finger nail painting and unusual choices in clothing by Williams during his college days, something no one had seemed to care about since he got to Halas Hall for the start of OTAs.

The bag appeared only partially and very briefly in the scene about 10 minutes into the show, so it's difficult to say. Coach Matt Eberflus hasn't said whether Williams will play against Buffalo this week but Williams is not slated to talk to media.

Even worse than any purse or bag was undrafted Canadian rookie offensive lineman Theo Benedet stripping down to a pair of "Speedo" style underwear with an eagle head on them as he sang "Proud to Be an American." It was during the Bears' traditional rookie initiation routine of singing for the team.

"I did know that Theo was going to be on there and I saw the highlight of that just because I had to see the reactions," T.J. Edwards said. "From the wild things I've seen, that's what it's about right? It's great for people to see—I don't know if that part's great to see but it's cool."

Edwards recalled singing his rookie year in Philadelphia.

"And it was probably the worst thing I ever did, I got done with it and I was good to go," Edwards said.

Kicker Cairo Santos heard about the scene when Nick Saban visited with Eberflus and during it there were highlights of Eberflus as a college player for Saban at Toledo, drilling ball carriers as a Rockets linebacker.

Santos is a bit concerned these days about being put in the unenviable task of being a last-resort tackler on kicks with this year's new kicking rule.

"Yeah, he can hit," Santos said of Eberflus. "Maybe can teach me how to tackle."

The weekly show has five episodes and new ones air each Tuesday at 8 p.m. The first one currently can be seen on Max.

Twitter: Bears On SI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.