Caleb Williams offers hilarious explanation for Ben Johnson prank

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams broke his silence about the Ben Johnson prank and offered this hilarious explanation.

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams appeared on the St. Brown Brothers Podcast on Wednesday and finally broke his silence about the hilarious Ben Johnson prank, when a few young fans texted and facetimed Williams pretending to be Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.

The hoax had Williams believing Johnson accepted the Bears head coaching job, and resulted in a series of text messages from Williams and a facetime call to the pranksters.

Williams, who admitted on the St. Brown Bros podcast that he wasn't locked in when he got the fake messages, offered an interesting explanation for why the Ben Johnson gag worked. He blamed Amon-Ra St. Brown.

"The text was so official. I've gotten that text from college coaches and other coaches before getting drafted and all that in different ways."

Bears QB Caleb Williams gives a play-by-play of getting tricked into thinking Ben Johnson was taking the Bears job. pic.twitter.com/rtVd8tvY96

— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) January 15, 2025

Williams told Amon-Ra and his brother (and former Bear) Equanimeous St. Brown that he attempted to text the Lions' star receiver to confirm the incoming texts were, in fact, from Johnson.

St. Brown's reply? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. He ghosted the former Heisman Trophy winner.

By the time St. Brown did reply to Williams, the infamous video had gone viral on social media.

Williams, who appeared to be a good sport during the prank, admitted he was fuming after the call ended and acknowledged that he kept his composure in the moment because he knew he was likely being recorded.

Caleb Williams confirmed he changed his phone number. Smart move.

—  Enjoy free coverage of the Bears from Chicago Bears on SI  —

More Chicago Bears News:

• Bears projected to land top head coaching candidate

• Bears land elite playmaker to pair with Caleb Williams in latest 2025 mock draft

• Unexpected candidate emerges as favorite for Bears coaching job

• Bears fans overwhelmingly reject idea of hiring this head coach