There’s no way around it, Bears fans — Caleb Williams didn’t live up to the hype in his rookie year. The former No. 1 overall pick struggled, to say the least, and was routinely outshined by the second overall pick, Jayden Daniels. As a result, Caleb faced intense criticism and online humiliation. The painted nails he proudly displayed before the draft ended up fueling even more backlash.
Advertisement
But here’s the thing: Williams didn’t paint his nails just for random reasons or to attract attention. It was a tribute to his mother, who has been a nail technician her entire life. The 23-year-old QB has been sporting color on his nails for quite some time now.
That said, not everyone has been critical of his style. Including Shannon Sharpe, who even offered to pay for the Williams’s manicure if the Bears star won more games this season.
“Hell, if it’s going to help us win more games, I’ll pay for him to get it painted,” Sharpe told Chad Johnson on Nightcap.
“I’ll pay for him to get a manicure. All I’m trying to do is win games. Man, I don’t care what somebody else does. They got nothing to do with me, Ocho. I’m painting his nails, painting his toenails. If he wanna die his hair blue, pink, or blond- I don’t give a d!” he added.
It was a passionate rant that Sharpe went on, but one that needed to be said. Honestly, who cares if Caleb paints his nails? It’s hard to understand how or why that changes the way people see him. What, just because he plays football and paints his nails, does that make him any less “manly”?
This sounds a lot like when players first started expressing themselves by wearing jewelry during games, and guys would get criticized for it. Sharpe’s co-host, Ocho, can relate.
But now, you see players like Justin Jefferson showing up to games with multiple chains and grills in their teeth. Freedom of expression has never been more apparent than it is in the NFL today — probably why Sharpe felt the need to defend Caleb.
Sharpe knows better than anyone that it doesn’t matter what you wear or what you look like; as long as you can win, people don’t care.
Unc said he doesn’t care if Caleb Williams paints his nails @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/Zfxenfi2Zf
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) May 24, 2025
Sharpe went on to talk about the additions the Chicago Bears made in the offseason, and he thinks they’ll help Caleb reach the number one overall pick talent they originally expected when they drafted him.
“I think Caleb is going to do really well. They revamped his offensive line, they signed Joe Thuney. They got the center from the Falcons and got an offensive lineman from the Chargers. They’ve done a great job,” Sharpe professed.
Protection was definitely the biggest issue for the Bears and Caleb last season. He was often forced to escape the pocket and make tough throws. Now, it seems like Chicago has addressed that issue, and hopefully, that allows him to sit back and survey the field before pinpointing his target.
We’ll have to wait and see if Caleb lives up to the hype and gets Sharpe to pay for his next manicure because of it. But if things stay the same and we don’t see progress early in year two, some big, uncomfortable questions are bound to be asked.
