With the media hanging on his every word, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams shared his thoughts on Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and some of the other great quarterbacks around the NFL. Talking to Kay Adams about the game, Williams shared his admiration for Stafford as one of the game’s best via the Up & Adams show.

“[Stafford is] unbelievable,” Williams continued his praise. “I don’t think I can name two or three [current] quarterbacks that play the position better.”

It often doesn’t take much to stir up bulletin board material in NFL locker rooms. Adams offered some pushback, “You’re telling me [Stafford] is better than Josh Allen?”

Williams went another way, saying, “Aaron Rodgers is my No. 1 QB.” And later added, “Matthew [Stafford] is top-two in the league.”

Well, there you have it–Rodgers, then Stafford take the top spots in Williams’s list of great quarterbacks. Usually, when a person appears to be ageist, it’s a prejudice against the old. Williams seems to prefer his quarterbacks to have a few more gray hairs. It’s probably tough for him to name his favorite Bears quarterback.

Caleb Williams goes to bat for Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers

Maybe we’re grading guys like Allen, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes on a curve? There’s no harm in the Bears rookie having his own opinion, but Williams should already know how every meta-argument can be used against him.

Before last season, there could be an argument to put Rodgers ahead of Mahomes. But the Kansas City star QB now has three Super Bowl rings, three Super Bowl MVPs and two MVPs. Rodgers is certainly one of the best to ever do it. Stafford is one of the most prolific, gunslingin’ quarterbacks ever in his own right.

But isn’t this a diss against Mahomes? There are a lot of great quarterbacks. We, the fans tend to have reached a general consensus, though. It was Joe Montana for a long time; then Tom Brady took over that mantle. Of today’s generation and before Mahomes took off, the argument could’ve been made for Rodgers. Now? Rodgers, Stafford and everybody else?

The media’s innocent question about which quarterbacks the Bears rookie signal-caller likes, paired with his intention to praise a player he wanted to show appreciation to, turns into a “gotcha.” For those who want to buy into those gotcha narratives, anyway.

For all we know, Williams just watched a Stafford clip on YouTube earlier that day and had him fresh on his mind. To his credit, he seems laid back and relaxed in his interview. Maybe he’s more laid back than he should be, considering he has the entire Bears franchise on his back. We’ve all seen those infographics that show how the Bears haven’t had a great quarterback in years. Maybe Williams dreams of beating out Mahomes before he can manage to unseat Brady as the GOAT.