Bear Digest

This is how bad the losing got for rookie Caleb Williams

Bears QB reveals during St. Browns' podcast what the losses in the 2024 season led him to do, and provides insight into where Year 2 takes him.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams looks over the defense during the Bears' season-ending 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Caleb Williams looks over the defense during the Bears' season-ending 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
In this story:

During the season, Caleb Williams was asked several times how the losing was affecting him during the 10-game Bears losing streak.

The effect was deep and maybe somewhat predictable. Williams revealed it during his lengthy podcast interview with the St. Brown brothers.

The losing got so bad he stopped painting his nails.

"This year I didn't do every game but typically I try to do every game," Williams told the Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, former Bears receiver Equanimeous St. Brown.


It had become his highly publicized and controversial trademark at USC, but actually went back long before he was at USC in 2022-23 or at Oklahoma as a freshman.

"When we started losing I was like, 'I probably don't want to do that right now,' " Williams said.

It wasn't entirely because of the losses.

"It's also taking up time that I need to be doing treatment (with trainers) and stuff," he told the St. Browns.

Williams is planning to bring it all back full force next season, with what he terms, "fire-ass designs." He sort of walked into this season unsure of how the work week went and when he needed to slot time for the nail work.

"I'm planning all the stuff now because, like also, I know what the season's (work schedule) is like," he said. "Next year I'll have one probably for every game

and then the fits and all that planned out for every game."

When the three weren't kidding about the USC (Amon-Ra, Caleb) and Notre Dame rivalry (Equanimeous) or how the Bears could steal away Amon-Ra's offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, they spent time with other off-field topics like why Williams hates chocolate chip cookies and how his Superman nickname actually originated before an offensive coordinator in high school started calling him this, not to mention other more personal topics.

And while the St. Browns were getting Williams to give up some personal details, Williams got Amon-Ra to admit something he couldn't mind hearing.

"You got dogs," St. Brown said about Williams' team. "You guys got a good team."

They just don't have a coach, and Williams dealt with that topic in the interview, as well.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published |Modified
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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.