It’s safe to say that Caleb Williams did not live up to the hype as a rookie in 2024. Ten-game losing streaks, like the one he had in the middle of that 5-12 campaign, are generally not a good sign.
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However, the Chicago Bears have given Williams a facelift in support this offseason, upgrading in all the areas that should help him reach his potential the most, from the offensive line to the head coach. Yet despite these changes, the second-year QB has continued to struggle in the early portions of Chicago’s training camp.
While that likely has more to do with on-field factors than anything else, a player’s personal life can never be discounted as a reason for poor play. Recent reports suggest that Williams and his long-time girlfriend, Alina Thyregod, have broken up, something that could understandably weigh on the 23-year-old’s mind.
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Williams and Thyregod celebrated their one-year anniversary earlier this year, but their relationship goes a lot deeper than that. The pair were high school sweethearts back in D.C. at Gonzaga College. They broke up after high school, but kept in touch and rekindled their romance while Williams was at USC.
Only Williams knows how the ending of that relationship has affected him, but the timing matches up with the QB’s training camp issues. At a recent joint practice with the Dolphins, he really struggled, according to beat writer Zack Pearson, missing receivers regularly, throwing an interception, and not showing the requisite pocket presence he needs to succeed at the NFL level (via Bears Wire):
“Something Pearson is concerned about with Williams is his pocket presence, noting “he bailed out a little too early at times and didn’t look very comfortable in the pocket to make some throws.” But he adds that preseason reps should help with that.”
The girlfriend issues could be an easy answer to these offseason woes for Williams, but based on what he’s been doing, he doesn’t seem overly bothered by the situation. He was spotted recently dancing at a concert with actress Madelyn Cline. Back in May, he was filmed arriving at a restaurant accompanied by three models, none of whom was his girlfriend.
So, if he really did break up with his girlfriend, it seems like he’s already moving on off the field. So why the issues on it? The idea that Williams could flop as Chicago’s QB after everything the Bears have done to set him up for success is something fans can’t even bring themselves to imagine. Maybe it’s just the football pressure on the former Heisman winner starting to creep in this offseason.
