The Chicago Bears‘ season looked as though it might ride out of Soldier field on the medical cart alongside star quarterback Caleb Williams in the fourth quarter on Sunday, but with the postgame reports on his health status came renewed hope for the franchise and its 2026 campaign.
A sports surgeon who regularly analyzes NFL injuries on social media wrote on September 20 that he expects Williams will miss two or three games and avoid the injured reserve list (IR).
“#Bears Caleb Williams – Reports = mild hamstring,” Deepak Chona, MD. SMA posted to X. “Avg 2-3 wks. Rushing attempts do dip. MRI Mon. Suspect he avoids IR.”
Bears QB Caleb Williams Was Walking Well After Game, May Have Lowest-Grade Muscle Strain
Reports from multiple league insiders also indicated that Williams’ hamstring issue may be far from season-ending.
“It looked bad, but I’m told that there is optimism that it is not a severe injury. It could be as slight as a grade 1, that is the lowest-level hamstring injury,” Mike Florio said during a Sunday Night Football report on NBC. “But they’ll know more tomorrow when they do the MRI. I’m told that Caleb is in good spirits to attack the recovery, whatever it may be. He had a left hamstring injury, the other leg, at USC. So he’s been through this before.”
Adam Jahns of CHGO Sports also reported that Williams looked good and was moving easily in the locker room following the game.
“Bears QB Caleb Williams came through the locker room while the media was present,” Jahns wrote on X. “He was walking under his own power, no crutches or anything, maybe a slight limp.”
Ben Johnson, Rome Odunze Offer Optimistic Views on Caleb Williams Following Hamstring Injury
Chicago head coach Ben Johnson told media members that he is thankful that Williams did not suffer a knee injury on the non-contact play.
“He’s in good spirits,” Johnson said during his postgame press conference. “I’m actually happy that it’s nothing with the knee. That was my first inclination, but the hamstring can be pretty damaging as well, so we’ll see how bad it is tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze, who came into the league with Williams in 2024 as a fellow top-10 pick, expressed total faith in the quarterback’s intent and ability to return to the team as soon as humanly possible.
“We know we’re going to get him back soon,” Odunze said, according to report from Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. “He’s a very resilient guy.”
The Bears will conduct an MRI on Williams’ hamstring on Monday morning and subsequently release an official report.
Bears’ Caleb Williams Injury Reports Point to Best-Case Scenario for QB