Caleb Williams Gets Endorsement After Talk He Was 'Little Brothered'

Postgame words from C.J. Stroud for Caleb Williams stirred up thoughts he was somehow "little brothering" the Bears QB when it was the opposite.

C.J. Stroud wanted to clarify Wednesday that his words in postgame were meant only as encouragement for Caleb Williams. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

C.J. Stroud is apparently a big backer of Caleb Williams, although what he told the Bears quarterback after Sunday's Texans win apparently was misconstrued by some to mean the exact opposite.

Stroud took the occasion of his Wednesday press conference to explain his words to Williams after the Texans' win were not meant to put himself on a higher level or to "little brother" Williams.

He knows I have a ton of respect for him," Stroud told reporters on Wednesday in Houston. "I told him I have respect for him."

After the game, Stroud was caught on mics saying, "Good job out there bro. Hey, stop taking those hits."

Very cool moment between Caleb Williams and CJ Stroud.

Lotta respect for Stroud. Even pulled Caleb back.
pic.twitter.com/Y9vJwCeXGd

— Dave (@dave_bfr) September 17, 2024

When Williams started to back away, Stroud said, "Look, come here. Learn from those mistakes and everything that you got is in you already bro. You're going to be a hell of a player in this league."

Williams seemed to want to maintain a distance but Stroud on Wednesday said he understood why.

"I don't think he was trying to like, be any (way) toward me—he was just upset they lost," Stroud told reporters. "I totally understand."

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Stroud said he felt the need to give Williams a confidence boos because of what he went through as a rookie last year.

CJ Stroud talks about postgame interaction with Caleb Williams on SNF

Stroud said he received a ton of advice as a rookie and wanted to pay it forward 🙌

(via @AaronWilson_NFL)pic.twitter.com/YwvgkeXP4B

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 18, 2024

"I had so many guys come to me after games last year and that meant the world to me that those guys even thought about giving me advice," Stroud said.

"So I just try to give back to the game that gave it to me. I wish him the best, man, I want him to do amazing in this league. I think he will. I think he'll get his groove

once you get your rhythm. I didn't get my rhythm until, like, Week 3 or Week 4. So I cans see his game picking up from here."

Williams after the game confirmed he wasn't in any mood for talks after the game.

"We shook hands at the end of the game, said good luck, stay healthy, that was about it," Williams said.

Williams had other things on his mind then.

"I was just trying to figure out what areas was I off, what areas were we off, to have this outcome that we have," Williams said. "Which is not winning the day.

"That's kind of the process that was going through my mind immediately after the game. We're excited about this week coming up and we're excited about all of that but obviously we're feeling the
'It sucks to lose.' "

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