Caleb Williams is happy to be a Chicago Bear in the here and now, Grant Gordon of NFL.com reports.

That was the message he wanted to convey on Wednesday when speaking to reporters for the first time since information surfaced from an upcoming book that he nor his father wanted him to be drafted by the organization.

"This whole storm that happened, it wasn't something that we wanted to happen at this point," Williams said. "We're focused on the present, we're focused on now. We're focused on, you know, trying to get this ship moving in the right direction. And I think, so far, that's what we've been doing. But for this to come out, it's been a distraction, so, coming up here and talking about it and addressing it is important today, and so that's what we're here to do."

In the soon-to-be-released "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," ESPN reporter and author Seth Wickersham details how Williams and his father, Carl Williams, looked into potential ways they could circumvent being drafted by the historically quarterback-challenged Bears at No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Nothing came into play and Williams, as expected, was selected by Chicago, which has never had a quarterback throw for more than 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in a season.

Williams, who had a pre-draft visit with the Minnesota Vikings and was detailed in the upcoming book as being enamored with Kevin O'Connell's coaching, underscored on Wednesday that no ill-willed schemes ever came to fruition.

"All that went down, all that was said, yeah, I had a good visit at the other place," Williams said. "Minnesota, with Kevin O'Connell, good staff, and all of that, obviously. He just won Coach of the Year award and things like that. So, obviously, good staff and things like that.

"But something that keeps getting lost or something that keeps getting, I think, not being addressed the way it needs to be, is the fact that, I went on that visit first, came here and then after I came here, I went back home, talked to my dad and, you know, all the things that were supposed to be, these big things that everybody's been talking about recently, No. 1, never happened in the sense of they were all thoughts. They were all ideas.

"And I think if you're in the situation, I think if your son or daughter, anybody is in the situation to be in that position, I think you think about all of the options and you look at the history and the facts and all these different things. And those are thoughts that go throughout your head in those situations. So, you know, all of those were thoughts, and then after I came with my visit here, it was a deliberate answer, a deliberate and determined answer that I had that I wanted to come here."

Williams is also hopeful of overcoming the snake-bitten past of Bears QBs and of ultimately leading a Chicago renaissance after six straight years without a winning season.

"All those things, like I said, were thoughts, but the main goal and the main objective of being here is to turn (it) around," Williams said. "That's why I was selected No. 1. That's what we're here to do. That's what they brought, you know, me here to do."

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