National Football League

Caleb Williams' father says QB could return to USC without 'good situation' in NFL Draft

Updated Sep. 25, 2023 8:56 p.m. ET

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Caleb Williams is a virtual lock to hear his name called first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The USC quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner has tantalized NFL scouts since stepping on the field as a true freshman at Oklahoma, before then following Sooners-turned-Trojans coach Lincoln Riley West the following offseason.

But if Williams does not believe he will land in a "good situation" in the NFL?

"The truth is, he can come back to school," Caleb's father Carl Williams told GQ in a recent profile of the quarterback.

Although he did not mention the Arizona Cardinals specifically, Carl Williams appeared to hint at the team that many expect to be the worst in the league this coming season. 

"The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first. The system is completely backwards," Carl said. "The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league — because of their desire for parity — gets the first pick. So it’s the gift and the curse."

The Cardinals have been heavily criticized recently after ex-head coach Steve Wilks claimed in a deposition that he was mandated by team owner Michael Bidwill to contact general manager Steve Keim via a burner phone during the 2019 season, breaking the terms of a suspension Keim was serving at the time for a 2018 DUI arrest. Former Cardinals vice president Terry McDonough first alleged the burner phone scheme back in April while also accusing Bidwill of bullying, racial and gender discrimination, and abusive behavior.

Meanwhile, quarterback Kyler Murray, who also won a Heisman while starring for Riley in college before the Cardinals picked him first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, has dealt with injuries and inconsistent performance, and he's feuded with the organization over a clause in his contract extension last offseason that mandated a weekly quota of film study. The clause was later removed by the team.

"I’ve talked to Lincoln, and Kyler struggled because of where he was drafted," Carl Williams told GQ.

Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr, Shedeur Sanders highlight stacked 2024 QB class

The Cardinals will start either recent acquisition Josh Dobbs or rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune at quarterback in Week 1 as Murray continues rehabilitating from a torn ACL that could keep him out for most of this season.

Carl Williams also mentioned that he has talked to Archie Manning, who spent most of his time as an NFL quarterback on the struggling New Orleans Saints in the 1970s.

"His career was shot because he went to a horrible organization," Carl said of Manning.

But Carl Williams' interaction with the Manning family patriarch is notable for another reason — Archie Manning famously helped upend the 2004 NFL Draft by supporting his son Eli's refusal to play for the then-San Diego Chargers, who selected the younger Manning at No. 1 overall in that draft. But when Archie and Eli did not budge from their stance, the Chargers traded Eli to the New York Giants, where he went on to win two Super Bowls.

Similar to the Mannings, Caleb Williams' development as a quarterback to this point has been meticulously planned out, with Carl playing a major role.

Can USC's Caleb Williams repeat as Heisman?

"I’ve always been able to choose the team that I’ve played on," Caleb Williams told GQ. "And then everything’s been scheduled for me. I’ve had a plan for treatment, I’ve had a plan for workouts, I’ve had a plan for eating, I’ve had a plan for nutrition and things like that. … But now, going into this next part of my career, it’s weird ’cause it’s so uncertain. You don’t know anything. You can’t control anything but you and how you act. That’s honestly the weirdest part for me, is the uncertainty."

Even if Caleb Williams does not return to USC next season, it appears he and his father are not afraid to use that possibility as leverage to gain some more leverage — and less uncertainty — about his NFL future.

In the meantime, Williams is off to another strong start in his junior season. He has 597 passing yards, a 73.5% completion percentage, nine passing touchdowns in zero interceptions over USC's first two games of the 2023 campaign.

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