National Football League

Caleb Williams 'won't pull an Eli Manning' with Bears, ex-USC teammate says

Updated Mar. 21, 2024 9:19 p.m. ET

Brenden Rice knows better than most what it's like to be in the constant presence of greatness.

The 22-year-old NFL Draft prospect out of USC does not shy away from the fact that his father is none other than Jerry Rice, the San Francisco 49ers legend considered by many to be the greatest wide receiver of all time. But Brenden, who is also a receiver, has spent the past two seasons forming a friendship with — and catching passes from — another legend in quarterback Caleb Williams, who is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

And Brenden Rice had nothing but good things to say about Williams during a recent appearance on Keyshawn Johnson's "All Facts No Brakes" podcast.

"He's a dynamic guy," Rice said. "He's gonna battle day in and day out. I have full trust in him because I've had to follow him, and he's led us time and time again. He's brought us back to earth. …[He's] the type of guy you want to go play with and play for."

It's because of that leadership ability, Rice said, that he believes Williams will embrace the challenge of being the next hoped-for franchise quarterback of the Chicago Bears, who hold that first overall pick in next April's draft.

"I don't see him going ahead and pulling one of those Eli Mannings," Rice said. "I think he's gonna go stick out the situation and ball out in the beautiful city of Chicago because that's who he is."

Rice was referring to Manning's infamous trade request ahead of the 2004 NFL Draft, when Manning and his camp made it known that the quarterback would refuse to play for the then-San Diego Chargers should they draft him No. 1 overall. The Chargers eventually did just that — but then traded him to the New York Giants, acquiescing to Manning's demand.

Though Williams comes in with pre-draft hype rivaling that of Manning or future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who made a similar demand that led to him ending up with the Denver Broncos instead of the then-Baltimore Colts, Johnson — a former No. 1 pick in his own right in the 1997 NFL Draft — said that despite veiled threats made by Caleb's father Carl while his son was still at USC, Williams' camp simply lacks the clout that the Mannings had or the leverage Elway had. By then, Eli's father Archie Manning had made his name as a longtime NFL quarterback and Eli's older brother Peyton had established himself as one of the best active quarterbacks in the league. And Elway was also an elite pitcher at Stanford who could have chosen baseball over football.

"[The Williams] ain't the Mannings," Johnson said. "If [Caleb] told [the Bears] that he didn't want to play there, and he wasn't going to sign the contract, and he wasn't going to do all this and that, and he became very difficult. Then they're just not gonna draft him. I promise you that. John Elway didn't want to play for the Baltimore Colts, but John Elway could play [baseball] for the New York Yankees. Caleb can't say, I'm going back to school, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that. Because what other options he got?"

However, Johnson thinks that going to Chicago isn't just the only option for Williams, it's also the right move.

"Going to Chicago is a beautiful thing," Johnson said. "If he could play there, and he can win there. They've been starving for quarterback forever. … If it does his work in Chicago, it'll be his town. Right now, they still live in the glory years of Michael Jordan."

But if things get bumpy in Williams' rookie season with a talented, veteran team, change could happen in a hurry for Bears coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.

"They're gonna get fired if they win less than 10 games," Johnson said.

"Oh yeah, they're gonna all be gone," Rice agreed.

As for Rice himself, he said he wants to go somewhere where he can become a No. 1 wide receiver and if he ends up getting drafted by his father's former team, he will not be asking them to un-retire his father's No. 80 for him to wear.

"My pops already created a legacy over there," Rice said. "I'm trying to create my own."

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