The NFL and friendly? Anybody who’s seen the bruising tackles which take place on the field — or has heard about or seen the horrific injuries players can suffer — would laugh at the suggestion that the world’s toughest contact sport has become too friendly.
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Of course, just because players physically — and violently — oppose each other on the field doesn’t mean that they can’t be friends off it. We’ve often seen such friendships spring up. Take Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, for example. While they’re fierce rivals on the field, off it, they’ve developed a strong personal bond. The two have been often spotted together at events and have even hit the golf course together.
However, second-year Bears QB Caleb Williams seems to have a different outlook. He says that he’s not interested in forming those kinds of bonds with his peers.
Caleb recently spoke to Esquire about his relationships with quarterbacks around the NFL. He noted that while they’re all great guys, he doesn’t necessarily want to be friends with them. In fact, the 23-year-old appears to be aiming to revive the old-fashioned quarterback rivalries of the past.
“I think the NFL game has become very friendly, and I don’t necessarily want to be friends, because I want to keep that competitive advantage,” Williams stated.
When Reddit caught wind of Williams’ quotes, theories and speculations about the reason started to abound. Some Redditors believed the statement stemmed from his interaction with Houston QB CJ Stroud after a loss to the Texans last season. At the time, Williams appeared visibly frustrated even as the Houston star was flooding him with advice.
“Caleb still isn’t over what CJ said to him after that game lol,” they wrote.
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“I get the feeling that Caleb isn’t a ‘ignore the media’ type,” another responded.
So, what exactly happened between Stroud and Caleb?
Following a Texans 19-13 win over the Bears on Sunday Night Football last season, Stroud and Williams went viral for their post-game interaction. CJ appeared to “little bro” the rookie, advising him to avoid taking too many hits while offering other pieces of wisdom Caleb might need.
However, the Bears star seemed visibly upset during the exchange and didn’t appear too happy receiving Stroud’s unsolicited advice. Understandably so, perhaps, since Williams and Stroud led the league sack charts in the 2024 season.
And, of course, memes of the interaction spread like wildfire.
This internet user seems to get it: “What makes this funnier, if true. Stroud is a month older than Williams. I don’t know if you can little bro someone who is basically the same age.”
After the game, Stroud clarified that he wasn’t trying to belittle the rookie sensation. He explained that he was simply doing what veteran quarterbacks had done for him during his rookie season. But that doesn’t change the fact that Williams appeared dismissive of Stroud’s advice in the moment. Still, CJ took no offense, believing Williams was just upset following the loss.
Is Caleb Williams following the Tom Brady method?
Other Redditors commented that this statement from Williams doesn’t need to be taken seriously. Rather than holding a grudge against Stroud over the awkward interaction, the Bears star could simply be following the advice Tom Brady shared with the world a year ago.
“Everyone’s friends now in sports all the time,” Brady said.
“And I don’t get that. That’s not the killer instinct. I don’t know how you can want to crush the competition, but then like have dinner with them the next night. My friends were the guys that were in the battle with me. I didn’t have any friends on the other teams. Maybe Peyton Manning.”
Brady has always been a big proponent of the killer instinct. It’s a mindset that focuses on gaining an advantage for yourself, without worrying about the impact on others. While it may sound harsh, it’s what earned him seven Super Bowl rings.
Williams hasn’t had the best start to his career, but his mindset is clearly similar to that of Brady’s. That is a promising sign for what’s to come.
