Photo via Fox News

Bears star Caleb Williams could reinjure hamstring by returning too soon, surgeon says

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Canfield, R. (2026, October 17). Bears star Caleb Williams could reinjure hamstring by returning too soon, surgeon says. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/bears-star-caleb-williams-could-reinjure-hamstring-returning-soon-surgeon-says

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-17 · by Ryan Canfield

Quick Summary

Dr. Drew Burdi, a former college football player who now specializes in foot and ankle surgery, warns that Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams risks reinjuring his hamstring if he plays against the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday despite being listed as questionable. Williams acknowledged feeling a pop during the injury but hasn't disclosed its severity or whether he will play. Burdi advises taking more time to heal properly to avoid further damage and compromise other parts of the body, emphasizing that partial tears require adequate recovery. Without Williams, the Bears have shown resilience with recent wins against the Eagles and Jets while managing a loss to the Packers.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Caleb Williams, the star quarterback for the Chicago Bears, is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons due to a hamstring injury. Dr. Drew Burdi, a former college football player and current foot-and-ankle surgeon, warns that if Williams returns before fully healing, he risks re-injuring his hamstring. Burdi, who experienced similar injuries during his playing days at Western Michigan, explains that hamstrings often feel better but remain partially torn, making them vulnerable to further damage without adequate rest. The Bears must decide whether the potential risk is worth it for a game that could impact their season trajectory.

Written for “Caleb Williams Injury Concerns” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Caleb Williams Injury Concerns
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 18% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Caleb Williams' injury and return to practice; one focuses on his refusal to disclose details during a press conference, while the other reports on medical concerns from a surgeon.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different quarterbacks (Demond Williams Jr. from Washington and Caleb Williams from Chicago Bears) with distinct injuries at separate times.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss Caleb Williams' status for returning from injury but focus on different aspects: one is about his readiness and feeling, while the other warns of potential reinjury.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 32 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A discusses Caleb Williams' potential reinjury if he returns too soon from his hamstring injury, while Article B reports on Williams actually playing and completing passes in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.”
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss Caleb Williams' potential return from a hamstring injury for an upcoming game against the Atlanta Falcons, Article A expresses concerns about reinjury and lists him as questionable, whereas Article B confirms his start in the game. These reflect different stages of the event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
33
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
18%
6 of 33 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6375 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ryan Canfield
66 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 After Texas Tech's loss to Cincinnati last week, head coach Joey McGuire benched quarterback Will Hammond for Thomas Castellanos, and the move paid off.
🔮 Since Josh Jacobs was arrested in May after an incident in which a woman claimed he threw her to the ground, records show several other women have come forward with allegations of their own against him.
🔮 Losing Payne for the rest of the season is a blow that the 1-4-1 Commanders might not be able to handle.
🔮 This New York Jets star will reportedly not be taking off anytime soon.
🔮 If you are having a bad day, just remember that you could always be a beer in the state of Wisconsin.
🔮 Thursday's game was Jacobs' second since coming off the commissioner's exempt list, which he had been on since August following a May altercation with his then-girlfriend, who said he threw her to the ground.
🔮 While no one can take that title away from Doug Heffernan, if Bichette helps lead the New York Mets to a World Series title, there will certainly be a debate.
🔮 Outside linebackers coach/run game specialist AC Carter’s responsibilities will expand to include coaching the defensive line, the Panthers announced.
🔮 The Milwaukee Brewers' first World Series title meant the world to their loyal fans, and would have meant the world to the late, beloved broadcaster Bob Uecker.
🔮 The decision to sign Tucker to the practice squad has drawn fierce criticism. While Toub said Butker is still the team’s kicker, that could change if his struggles continue.
Also by Ryan Canfield
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 66 articles by Ryan Canfield →

Topics

Bears Falcons Packers the Atlanta Falcons the Chicago Bears'

Subjects

Burdi PERSON · 7× Williams PERSON · 6× Bears ORG · 4× Falcons ORG · 2× Packers ORG · 2× Caleb Williams PERSON · 1× Drew Burdi PERSON · 1× Western Michigan ORG · 1× the Atlanta Falcons ORG · 1× the Chicago Bears' ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
🔮 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.

Claims (33 extracted, 6 hedged)

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. asserted
he → list → injury
Should he play, though? asserted
he → play → ?
Former college football quarterback-turned-foot-and-ankle surgeon Dr. Drew Burdi isn’t sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. asserted
juice → turn → ?
Burdi dealt with a hamstring injury during his playing days at Western Michigan and knows how tough they are to manage. asserted
they → deal → Michigan
"I think he could reinjure it," Burdi told OutKick in a recent interview. uncertain
Burdi → think → interview
"I had, when I was playing, I had a hamstring, I pulled my hamstring. asserted
I → have → hamstring
It felt the same way. asserted
It → feel → ?
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." This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → look → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
Burdi said that when the hamstring is injured, it's actually partially torn. asserted
it → say → ?
If it's not given time to heal properly, it becomes more susceptible to tearing again. asserted
it → give → tearing
"Then that just puts stress on other parts of the body, you could be running differently. uncertain
you → put → body
It can put him in a compromising positions that he just normally wouldn't be in when he's 100%," Burdi said. asserted
Burdi → put → that
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Williams refused to disclose the medical grade of his hamstring injury but called it "pretty serious. asserted
Williams → speak → it
"I felt a pop," Williams said. asserted
Williams → feel → pop
"That's why I looked back. asserted
I → look → ?
I looked back just like everybody else does when you feel a pop. asserted
you → look → pop
Think somebody grabbed you and nobody grabbed me." asserted
nobody → think → me
The Bears' star quarterback also said he wasn't sure whether he would play against the Falcons. asserted
he → say → Falcons
Burdi said that if Williams has any trepidation, he should sit out another week. asserted
he → say → trepidation
"'Cause they really look good (without him), except for the Packers (game). asserted
they → look → game
But I mean, without that game, I don't know. asserted
I → mean → game
I'd probably say take more time because I think that they could. uncertain
they → say → time
It depends on their schedule too. asserted
It → depend → schedule
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. uncertain
he → get → it
It's one of those injuries where you can try to push it, but you really have to know yourself. asserted
you → try → yourself
If it feels like you're still not 100%, it's probably worth just holding off on it," Burdi said. asserted
Burdi → feel → it
Without Williams, the Bears have gone 2-1. asserted
Bears → go → Williams
They beat the Philadelphia Eagles with Case Keenum, beat the New York Jets with Tyson Bagent, and then lost to the Green Bay Packers. asserted
They → beat → Packers
Bagent started against the Packers but was replaced by Keenum late in the blowout loss. asserted
Bagent → start → 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. asserted
they → heed → month
The last thing the Bears need is for Williams to hustle back only to reinjure himself and miss more time. asserted
Williams → need → time
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support