Silvy: An open letter to Caleb Williams from Bears fans

It didn’t take long.

Just a day after last week’s column where I cautioned Bears fans not to believe the gossip that was sure to come surrounding Caleb Williams, rumors started to swirl that Williams may not want to play in Chicago and might force his way to his hometown Washington DC.

[ Silvy: QB rumors are fun. Just be careful what you believe ]

Since the Bears don’t have the best track record developing quarterbacks, I figured I would do my part with an open letter to Caleb Williams and his “camp”.

I’m writing on behalf of you, Bears fans, whether you like it or not.

Dear Caleb Williams and camp,

I am writing on behalf of Chicago Bears fans, the most passionate fanbase you’ll ever meet.

And while we believe Chicago is the best spot for you, or any great quarterback, please understand that many of us are also quite self aware. We understand that our franchise has its warts and still isn’t perfect. Far from it. I have complained and documented the many things that has held this team back for the last 30 years on radio and in print, so this isn’t coming from a Kool-Aid drinking homer.

I am happy to report that times are good and will have a chance to be great for many years with star quarterback play. Since the day Ryan Poles walked into Halas Hall, he had a master plan. He tore down a mediocre aging roster and built it with young ballers who love to play the game. Those players have great chemistry and care about each other. You would be walking into a locker room that is united.

Poles has taken big, bold swings at the trade deadline adding young players to the roster. And if one deal doesn’t work, he’ll admit it, but isn’t dissuaded from trying again. A matter of fact, the No. 1 pick that the Bears would choose you with, was acquired in one of the greatest trades in Bears history.

Because of the growing young roster that is poised to win now, it will provide you a unique opportunity to go to a team ready to win immediately and avoid many of the pitfalls other young quarterbacks experience.

• Trevor Lawrence went to a Jaguars team that was 1-15.
• Joe Burrow moved to Cincinnati when the Bengals were 2-14.
• Kyler Murray took over the Cardinals after a 3-13 season.
• Baker Mayfield had the task of getting drafted by a winless Browns team.
• Same with Matthew Stafford in Detroit!

The best comp of what the Bears have is what the Rams did when they drafted Jared Goff.

Like the Bears, the Rams won seven games in 2015 and then traded up to No. 1 to draft Goff.

Goff won 11 games in his second season and went to the Super Bowl in his third season. In those successful seasons, Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was on that Rams coaching staff and was the passing game coordinator in the Super Bowl season.

By the way, you will be much better than Goff.

Speaking of Waldron, as the OC in Seattle, Geno Smith was eighth in yards passing, eighth in passing attempts and second in completion percentage in his first season in the offense. Do you like to throw the ball, Caleb?

And that’s why you shouldn’t think about going back home to DC and the Commanders.

I understand the draw of your hometown, but this would be a huge mistake.

While the Bears have been dragged by some national talking heads, let’s look at the track record of what Washington has done over the last quarter of a century.

Since 2000, Washington has a total of four winning seasons. Of those four seasons, the Commanders have won 10 games only twice and never more than 10. Meantime, they have 10 seasons with six wins or less and five seasons of four wins or less. In that span, your hometown team has the fifth worst record in the entire NFL. DC is a great place to visit in the offseason. You just don’t want to play football there.

I understand you love Kliff Kingsbury. What’s not to like? Good looking guy, great taste in houses, air raid offense. But let’s talk winning again. Kingsbury has an overall record of 63-78-1 as a head coach. And while he’s not your head coach now, ask yourself this, did you achieve everything you wanted to this past year with him in his only year at USC?

And let’s finally address the elephant in the room of the Bears never developing a quarterback, at least to a superstar level. I mentioned Waldron earlier and his role with Goff. He also developed Smith into a Pro Bowl player years after he was considered a bust.

But I choose to use the lack of success at QB in Chicago as a challenge to you, someone who loves the spotlight. You can be one of one. You can be the first. There is no shadow. There is no shoes to fill. You would be blazing the quarterback trail in Chicago. The quarterback who becomes a star in this town will reach star power second only to Michael Jordan. Are you up to that challenge?

Please, don’t mistake Bears fans’ kindness for weakness. We are not begging. Justin Fields has done some good things. There are other really good prospects in this draft. I am just writing to inform you that the Bears table is set for someone with a special set of skills to take the reigns and slay the dragon. At the very least, let’s slay some Packers.

With love, respect, a shot of malort, and on behalf of many Bears fans,

Marc Silverman

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.