Caleb Williams escaped the kind of injury scare that can wreck a season, but that doesn’t mean the Bears can rush anything.
When Williams went down against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 at Soldier Field, the immediate fear was obvious. First came the question about an Achilles tear.
Once that was ruled out, the next worry was a hamstring tear. Instead, the Bears got Monday news that the initial tests were about as encouraging as they could have hoped for.
That’s the good news. The less comfortable part is what comes next.
Head coach Ben Johnson has already indicated Williams is week-to-week and likely to miss time, which puts the Bears in the kind of careful, uncomfortable waiting game teams hate but have to play. And for a player like Williams, whose game depends so much on movement, there’s a recent example that should be sitting right in front of everyone in the building.
Lamar Jackson’s 2025 hamstring situation is the cleanest blueprint.
Last season, the Ravens quarterback suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs. But Jackson later said the issue may have actually started the previous week against the Detroit Lions.
"I couldn't really burst [in the] Detroit game, but I didn't know what it was," Jackson said earlier this year. "I just thought it was just nagging until we played the Chiefs, and I tried to do a move.
I just felt my hamstring just like ... I can't even describe it to you this year.
It's crazy. But when it happened, it happened."
That matters because it suggests Jackson was already compromised before the Chiefs game, even if he kept playing. Then the injury clearly worsened, and he ended up missing the next three games before returning in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins. Baltimore also had a Week 7 bye.
Jackson dealt with knee, ankle and toe issues later in the season as well, and it’s impossible to say exactly how much those were tied to the hamstring or the return timeline. Still, the sequence is useful for Chicago because it shows what can happen when a quarterback with real running ability comes back before he’s fully ready.
Williams belongs in that same category. Like Jackson, he can hurt defenses with his legs, and that raises the stakes here. If the Bears bring him back even a week early, they’re inviting a possible setback they can’t afford.
So the message has to be patience. Williams will want back on the field quickly.
That’s natural. But Johnson, Williams and the entire organization need to be disciplined about this one.
The timing at least gives Chicago some room. Because the injury happened early in the season, the Bears can afford to be cautious, and they should be. If this is a Grade 1 issue, a four-week absence before a possible return would fit the approach the team needs to take.
In Other News...
Vikings Young Talent Is Already Separating After Ugly Week 2
The Vikings may be sitting at the top of the division after a 9-3 win over the Bears, but the bigger story for Minnesota has been how quickly the young roster is starting to sort itself out. A few early standouts helped steady a sloppy game, with Banks turning in six tackles and Donovan Jackson continuing his strong start at guard, giving the team reasons to feel better about the future even in a grind-it-out divisional fight.
Elsewhere, the picture is less settled. Tai Felton and Claiborne are still trying to carve out meaningful roles, while Brett Thorson has looked useful as a punter but is now dealing with a hamstring injury. For a team trying to build depth around its core, the early season is already separating the players who are moving forward from the ones still waiting for their chance. [Read more 🡒]
Rob Brzezinski's Tough Call Helped Spark The Vikings Pass Rush
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Dallas Turner has helped explain why the front office was willing to endure that short-term discomfort. After the trade, Turner emerged as one of the teams most important pass rushers and has given the defense a much-needed edge off the edge. For a Vikings team always chasing pressure and disruption, the return on that gamble is beginning to show up in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Bears QB Trouble Just Got Worse After That Vikings Game
The Bears left their matchup with the Vikings already dealing with quarterback uncertainty, and the situation has only become messier heading into Week 3. Tyson Bagent is now in the NFL's concussion protocol, putting his status in doubt for Chicago's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, while Caleb Williams is also sidelined with a hamstring issue and is considered week to week.
If both young quarterbacks are unavailable, the next option could be Case Keenum, a veteran who has not been asked to carry a full-time starting role in quite some time. For a Bears team trying to steady itself early in the season, that kind of depth chart shuffle is hardly ideal, and it leaves one of the league's most watched quarterback situations hanging over the week. [Read more 🡒]