Caleb Williams is listed as questionable for the Chicago Bears’ game on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons as he looks to return from his hamstring injury. Should he play, though?
Former college football quarterback-turned-foot-and-ankle surgeon Dr. Drew Burdi isn’t sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. Burdi dealt with a hamstring injury during his playing days at Western Michigan and knows how tough they are to manage.
“I think he could reinjure it,” Burdi told OutKick in a recent interview. “I had, when I was playing, I had a hamstring, I pulled my hamstring. It felt the same way. I remember looking around, I was running and I felt like somebody came up and hit me in the back of my leg, and then I realized there was no one around me, and I knew exactly what happened.”
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams runs with the football during the second half of an NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Burdi said that when the hamstring is injured, it’s actually partially torn. If it’s not given time to heal properly, it becomes more susceptible to tearing again.
“Then that just puts stress on other parts of the body, you could be running differently. It can put him in a compromising positions that he just normally wouldn’t be in when he’s 100%,” Burdi said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Williams refused to disclose the medical grade of his hamstring injury but called it “pretty serious.”
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Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears is carted off the field after an injury against the Minnesota Vikings during the third quarter at Soldier Field on Sept. 20, 2026, in Chicago, Ill. (Getty Images)
“I felt a pop,” Williams said. “That’s why I looked back. I looked back just like everybody else does when you feel a pop. Think somebody grabbed you and nobody grabbed me.”
The Bears‘ star quarterback also said he wasn’t sure whether he would play against the Falcons. Burdi said that if Williams has any trepidation, he should sit out another week.
“‘Cause they really look good (without him), except for the Packers (game). But I mean, without that game, I don’t know. I’d probably say take more time because I think that they could. It depends on their schedule too. If their schedule is good enough where they can get out of it at .500 and have him come back healthy, I think it’s better than trying to push himself, win a game, maybe this week, but then he injures it further, and then he might be out longer. It’s one of those injuries where you can try to push it, but you really have to know yourself. If it feels like you’re still not 100%, it’s probably worth just holding off on it,” Burdi said.
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is helped off the field with an apparent injury against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., on Sept. 20, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Without Williams, the Bears have gone 2-1. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles with Case Keenum, beat the New York Jets with Tyson Bagent, and then lost to the Green Bay Packers. Bagent started against the Packers but was replaced by Keenum late in the blowout loss.
If the Bears heed Burdi’s advice and sit Williams for one more week if he doesn’t feel 100% and lose to the Falcons on Sunday, they will still have managed to go .500 without their star quarterback for a month.
The last thing the Bears need is for Williams to hustle back only to reinjure himself and miss more time.
