New Patriots star has bold claim about Bears’ Caleb Williams, despite playing with Drake Maye

New Patriots star has bold claim about Bears’ Caleb Williams, despite playing with Drake Maye originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Star safety Kevin Byard, who played for the Chicago Bears during the 2025 season, might not be on the roster any longer, but he certainly seems like he has a lot of respect for what the future of this organization is. That all starts with youngster Caleb Williams, who is going to be entering his third year in the NFL next season.

Williams had a great season a year ago, certainly the best of his young career. He still has some things to figure out in the National Football League, though that was to be expected when he entered the league. While Williams was viewed as a generational talent, typically, every young quarterback needs some time to learn things.

However, according to Byard, he doesn't seem to have much to learn. In fact, Byard went as far as to say that while every quarterback needs time to develop, he wouldn't want anybody else under center than the Bears' young star.

“Well, he already has the nickname “Iceman,” and the reason why is — young quarterbacks, they’re gonna need time to develop. But when you talk about game on the line, and we need him to make a play, there’s really nobody I’d rather have under center,” Byard said, per USA Today.

It's interesting that he said that when he's going to play with the New England Patriots and another young star quarterback in Drake Maye, but this also goes to show what Williams is viewed as around the league.