Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams avoided major injury after being carted off the field in his team’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota in Week 2. That being said, head coach Ben Johnson labelled the franchise signal caller “week to week” on Monday with what the team is calling a right hamstring strain.
“It sounds like it’s going to be a week-to-week deal for him,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to still talk with our trainer. We’ll do that here shortly and I’ll have the lowdown from him. But it sounds like it’s week-to-week but will likely miss some time.”
Williams appeared to be in extreme pain following a first down run in the red zone, and appeared to be unable to put any weight on his leg as he was helped off the field. Eventually he was carted back to the locker room, with many in the Chicago area fearing the worst for the dynamic play caller.
According to Tom Pelissero, Chicago has yet to rule out Williams for their Week 3 showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles which will take place on Monday, September 28th. However, the 24 year old would need to have a lot of things go right in his recovery over the next several days for him to have a realistic shot at suiting up.
All in all it was a Sunday to forget for Chicago. After scoring a league high 59 points in Week 1 vs. Carolina, the Bears were stymied at every turn against the Vikings, putting up a paltry 3 points that included several stalled trips in the red zone and a blocked field goal attempt.
The silver lining in the loss is that Williams’ injury doesn’t appear to be one which will derail the team’s season. Johnson alluded to as much to reporters following the game on the weekend. “I mean you could kind of see in real time. I’m actually happy it’s nothing with the knee,” Johnson said. “That was my first inclination. But yeah, a hamstring can be pretty damaging as well. We’ll see how bad it is tomorrow and we’ll go from there. It’s quickly you’ve got to turn the page.”
Prior to his injury, Williams was 15 for 26 for 138 yards and an interception. He also added 42 yards rushing, while being sacked 3 times on the day. In his place, Chicago turned to veteran back up Tyson Bagent, who figures to get the start on Monday Night Football if Williams is unable to go.
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