Caleb Williams is expected to be sidelined 3-4 weeks after suffering a Grade 2 strain of his right hamstring in last Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
The news was first reported on Sunday morning by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport. It comes on the heels of a previous announcement that the Chicago Bears quarterback would miss Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field.
Williams went down on a non-contact injury in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 9-3 loss to the Vikings and was carted off the field. While Bears fans initially expected the worse, it was quickly revealed that the injury was not season-ending or career-altering.
Williams’ recovery window now puts him into mid-October. The Bears play at Green Bay on October 11 and then at Atlanta a week later on October 18.
Making a comeback against the Packers seems like a strong possibility, especially given Bears coach Ben Johnson’s belief that Williams can recover from the injury faster than most.
"This guy's a little bit different than the average human being,” Johnson told reporters at Halas Hall earlier in the week.
Who starts on Monday night?
It’s still unclear. Second-string quarterback Tyson Bagent was cleared from concussion protocol on Saturday and was a full participant in practice. However, he was listed as “questionable” on the injury report released by the team on Sunday morning.
Veteran Case Keenum took a majority of snaps during the week in practice and would be set to make his first start since 2023 if called upon.