Caleb Williams hamstring injury leaves Bears waiting for answers
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was ruled out with a right hamstring injury, and coach Ben Johnson said the team expects more clarity Monday.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
The Caleb Williams hamstring injury put a grim cap on Chicago’s 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings: the Bears said their quarterback hurt his right hamstring and would not return to the Week 2 game.
Williams was injured late in the fourth quarter near Minnesota’s goal line. Fox Sports reported that he was scrambling left on first-and-goal from the Vikings’ 6-yard line, needed help leaving the field and was taken by cart to the locker room.
The exact sequence should be treated with care. CBS Sports described Williams as going down while trying to extend a play, while Fox Sports reported that Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman tripped him. Neither account changes the official diagnosis announced by Chicago: a right hamstring injury.
How long will Caleb Williams be out?
There was no answer immediately after the game. Bears coach Ben Johnson said the club would know more the following day and gave no timetable for Williams’ return, according to Bears Wire.
Johnson said he had first feared an injury to Williams’ knee. He said Williams was “in good spirits” and relieved it was not his knee, while cautioning that a hamstring issue “could be pretty damaging,” according to Yahoo’s republished Big Lead report.
A later observation that Williams was walking under his own power with a slight limp does not establish the injury’s severity or indicate when he can play again, Yahoo reported.
What happened after Williams left?
Tyson Bagent took over at quarterback with Minnesota ahead 6-3, according to CBS Sports. Fox Sports reported that the Vikings then blocked Cairo Santos’ 23-yard field-goal try.
Bagent finished 5-for-9 passing for 54 yards, Bears Wire reported. Williams’ line before exiting was 15 completions on 26 attempts for 138 yards and an interception, plus five carries for 42 yards, according to Fox Sports.
For now, the Bears have confirmed the body part injured and that it ended Williams’ afternoon. The severity, test results and any absence beyond the Vikings game remained unknown after Johnson’s postgame update.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.