Last month, Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson made some rather abrasive comments about quarterback Caleb Williams, saying that Williams needed to leave the “Hollywood stuff” in college.
The Bears hadn’t yet drafted Williams at the time, but everyone knew Chicago was going to take the USC product No. 1 overall.
For Johnson, it seemed like a pretty obvious warning shot to Williams, but now, Johnson is walking back what he said. Or at least clarifying it.
“That conversation was taken completely the wrong way,” Johnson said during an appearance on The Parkins and Spiegel Show on 670 The Score. “People, to me, just wanted click-bait and didn’t even take into consideration the whole context of the damn conversation. Because when we were talking, she (Kay Adams of The Up & Adams Show) had brought up, ‘Oh, how do you feel about Caleb Williams if he comes and you guys draft him? He’s like Hollywood, how do you think the Hollywood will come into the locker room?’ She kept using the word ‘Hollywood.’ I never said, ‘He’s Hollywood, he’s this and that.’ I don’t know the dude.”
Johnson added that he has already smoothed things out with the incoming rookie.
“I cleared the air and was like, ‘Hey, that wasn’t what it was supposed to be, I don’t know you,'” said Johnson. “He hit me and was like, ‘Hey, I’m a winner, I just want to win.’ We had that conversation. I’m like it’s all good.”
Johnson signed a massive contract extension with the Bears earlier this offseason and is coming off of a Pro Bowl campaign in which he registered 36 tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble, 10 passes defended and a defensive touchdown.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Utah, was selected by Chicago in the second round of the NFL Draft.
Johnson has been one of the better cornerbacks in the league when healthy, but staying on the field has been difficult for him, as he has never played a full season since entering the NFL.
Hopefully for the Bears, Johnson can avoid injuries in 2024 and Caleb Williams can leave all of that extra stuff outside the building like Jaylon Johnson initially requested.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
