When the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings meet on Monday Night Football in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season, it will be a reunion for quarterback Caleb Williams and several of his former USC Trojans teammates. One of those teammates, Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison, has already started a subplot.
Addison shared a picture of himself and Williams, along with other images that otherwise highlighted his offseason. Many fans took it to have an underlying meaning. Addison had more.
Jordan Addison Links Up With Caleb Williams With Bears-Vikings Set for Week 1
Vikings’ Jordan Addison Caused Stir Over Bears’ Caleb Williams
On Saturday, Williams posted an image to his Instagram story of someone else, who was wearing a Denver Broncos jersey (Pat Surtain II, by the looks of it). The individual had their back turned with a scarf over their head. Williams did not tag anyone in the photo, but Addison shared it to his story, seemingly signaling that it was indeed him in the image.
It is a minor footnote in the unexpected intrigue the Vikings’ wideout sparked.
Williams and Addison spent the 2022 season together at USC, in which the Bears QB won the Heisman Trophy. They have remained friends, which serves as important context for Addison’s previous post.
Addison’s post that caused such a stir, which he shared on Instagram, did not have a caption, a decision that lent itself to speculation from fans. Others came to McCarthy’s defense, noting that Addison had recently posted a video of him receiving a pass from his new QB1.
“One camp with [J.J.] mccarthy and bro is missing caleb,” one fan posted in the comments of Addison’s post.
“no pic with jj, is bro tryna tell us mccarthy is not him,” said another fan.
The picture is a capture from an on-field interview Addison did with ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. It was after the Vikings’ 30-27 win over the Bears in overtime. Addison, who had eight receptions for 162 yards and 1 touchdown in the game, called Williams “my boy, Caleb” during the interview.
Addison noted that Williams (32-for-47, 342 yards, 2 touchdowns) had him “nervous a little bit” because he had “seen him do some crazy things.”
“I was just crossing my fingers hoping that it went our way,” Addison told Cronin.
The two teams met again in Week 15, a 30-12 Vikings victory. Williams sported a 191-1-0 line on 58% completion. Addison had a quieter day than the first meeting, notching seven receptions for 63 yards.
Trojan Reunion at Soldier Field in Week 1
This year will be a bit different for Addison, Williams, and Bears wide receiver John Jackson III, another member of that 2022 Trojans squad that went 8-1 but lost 46-45 to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.
Williams will face former Trojans and now-Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon.
Blackmon jokingly warned Williams after the latter was drafted to the Bears that they could no longer be gaming buddies. He later trolled the QB over camp reports. However, Blackmon tore his ACL in 2024.
He suffered the injury in the first practice of training camp and missed the entire campaign. He is healthy and could be one of the three corners on the field for the Vikings in nickel packages (or dime). That is, if he does not win one of the top two jobs.