Caleb Williams explains why he and his dad schemed to avoid going to the Bears from USC

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams smiles as he warms up during NFL football practice in Lake Forest, Ill.In something of a grand gesture, Caleb Williams stood at a lectern Wednesday to explain that excerpts from an upcoming book were old news. A year after scheming to avoid playing for the Bears, he is committed to turning around the franchise.

Leaping from the USC campus to the top rung of the NFL draft a year ago, Williams aspired to be like John Elway and Eli Manning.

Just not in the way one might expect.

Sure, he wanted to lead a team to multiple Super Bowl titles like those two quarterbacks, whose career statistics were remarkably similar. Both played 16 years in the NFL for only…