“Acquiring him was a mistake” Bears coach says as their trade with the young megastar takes an odd turn..

The story of the Bears’ Caleb Williams deal takes an odd turn.

The Chicago Bears will eventually reach an agreement over their first-overall selection. Reports on the Caleb Williams contract controversy, however, seem to be contradictory.

Williams claims that he is not involved in the negotiations, via NBC Sports’ Mike Florio.

Williams stated over the weekend that he couldn’t handle his rookie contract. That is being handled by my lawyers, my attorney, and the head of the Bears, among others, up there at the top. I’m not in charge of that role.

But as per the terms of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), this doesn’t stack up.

The Bears are only allowed to engage with Williams because he isn’t represented by an NFLPA-certified agent, Florio added. “The Bears have informed the league that they are not speaking with any third parties,” an NFL representative said.

Chicago then attested to the club’s adherence to the regulations.

“Your interpretation of Article 48 [of the Collective Bargaining Agreement] is accurate,” the league wrote in an email to Pro Football Talk. “However, the team informed the league that it is only communicating with the player.”

In any case, the conversations shouldn’t be significantly impacted by Williams representing himself because the rookie compensation is set in advance by selection position. But there are other factors at play as well, such when he gets paid for his signing bonus, if the team can gain cap relief if and when he leaves, and what kind of activities would nullify guaranteed money.

What might be the reason for this perplexing confusion?