On Thursday evening, the Chicago Bears selected their franchise quarterback of the future by taking former USC Trojans and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams with the number one overall pick–which they owned courtesy of a previous trade with the Carolina Panthers, who finished with the worst record in the NFL this year–in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams joins a Bears team that underachieved this past year and traded away their former quarterback Justin Fields in order to clear the way for Williams’ arrival.Of course, the arrival of a new star player usually signals an increase in jersey sales for an organization, but one question on the minds of everyone in Chicago was what jersey number that Williams would choose for his new team.
It appears that the answer to that question has now been revealed.
“Bears say new QB Caleb Williams will wear No. 18, his number in high school at Gonzaga,” reported Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
The Bears have already made some moves this offseason in preparation for Williams’ arrival, including the aforementioned trade of Fields as well as the acquisition of star wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers to help bolster a receiving core that left a bit to be desired over the last couple of seasons.
In any case, Bears fans can now begin to purchase their Williams jerseys and show their support for their franchise’s new quarterback of the future.