Caleb Williams

It was my understanding that he was in the building when the locker room opened at 1130.

He wasn't in the locker room.

But, yeah, so.

Do you think his future is in question with the Bears?

I don't know.

I mean, that's really, really big.

And, you know, they've got a lot to sort through.

And, you know, today is one of those days, Mark, you've experienced it.

You know, you have conversations today with Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker who both don't know if they will ever wear a Bears jersey again on game day, right?

Right.

And so, like, it really strikes you when you're thanking guys for, you know, being as good as they were in the locker room all season.

You know, you're reflecting on the season.

I also feel like I owe it to my family to capitalize on an all-pro season and see what's out there for me.

And so six or seven weeks from now, that's going to be a big deal when you have one of the core leaders of your team exploring free agency if you don't first get to him with a deal that makes sense for both sides.

And so this is the business part of things that comes in really quickly, even as you're sorting through all the heavy emotions of what last night was.

Tell me, Dan, when you were in that locker room, what struck you the most, like if there was a single statement or an interview that you did that stuck with you the most walking out of there?

The final kick of the night, that Harrison Mevis kick that ended the game last night, was one of the more surreal experiences that I've ever had in my professional sports journalism career.

And to hear that echoed from players in the locker room of the silence when that kick went in, it was honestly, guys, like someone hit a mute button on reality.

Like you were kind of looking around for nine or ten seconds being like,

Literally, did someone just mute the earth?