When Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams injured his hamstring on a first-down run, the sight of him screaming and rolling around on the ground sent a shockwave through the fanbase in Week 2. Unable to put any weight on his right leg, he was helped off the field by trainers and then carted off. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a season-ending injury, except it wasn’t. And when the injury updates came back positive, many took to their platforms to call out Williams for making it look bigger than it was. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was one of them.
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On his show Wake Up Barstool, he slammed Williams, gave him a nickname: The Thespian, and noted, “The man tweaked his hammy, and acted like both ACLs, MCLs, and everything else had been torn.” That clip landed in front of Williams himself, and the Bears QB decided to push back.
“The guy that has a kid arrested and expelled from school for throwing pennies at him is calling someone else soft LMFAOOOOOO,” Caleb Williams reposted a tweet by a fan on Portnoy’s clip. This, in turn, elicited a strong response from Portnoy, who first put Williams on the spot and then also offered his support.
“I woke up to Bears Qb @CALEBcsw spreading disinformation about me,” Portnoy wrote on X, above a screengrab of his clip, and Williams’ response above it. “I didn’t get anybody arrested or kicked outta school. That m—n threw s–t at me on camera in the middle of a pizza review, and it went viral. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“Regardless, I will not hold this against Caleb. He’s an emotional guy and in his feelings after tweaking his hammy. I am rooting for him and all of Chicago. I can’t wait to see 18 back on the field this week after that season-ending injury. When they go low, I go high! Go Bears! 🐻”
Now, the “season-ending injury” is another dig aimed at Williams, given that he’s never had one in his NFL career so far. When he went down in Week 2, many believed it looked like a season-ending injury based on Williams’ reaction to it.
After everything, head coach Ben Johnson had noted that Williams was in high spirits in the locker room, and pictures showed the QB walking with a little limp, but without any crutches. The Bears haven’t even ruled him out for their Week 3 clash against the Philadelphia Eagles yet.
“This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being,” Johnson said on Monday. “I’m not putting a timeline on this. We’re saying he’s week-to-week. He’s going to attack this.”
Going to Caleb Williams’ accusations and Portnoy’s rebuttal, the incident Williams referred to happened last year. While filming for his popular show ‘One Bite Pizza Reviews’ outside Boardtown Pizza in Starkville, an individual threw coins at Portnoy, and Starkville authorities later arrested him.
Regardless of this clarification, Dave Portnoy is facing a ton of criticism for his take on Williams. But he’s not the only one who called out Williams on his injury reaction, though. Former NFL linebacker Will Compton also decided to put Williams on blast for the same thing recently.
“It’s a man’s game,” Compton said at the end of a tirade. “You can’t be getting carted off for hamstring injuries. That can’t happen. Again, grade three, surgery today or tomorrow, that’s a different animal. But if we’re talking hamstring strain, that just can’t happen, man.”
On the flip side, Chicago Bears insider Adam Hoge, on his podcast Hoge & Jahns, has pushed back against all the criticism Williams is facing.
“If you have any problem with him taking a cart to the locker room or the amount of pain he was in in that moment, then it is because you have a personal problem with Caleb Williams, which is really your problem,” Hoge said.
For now, Caleb Williams remains week-to-week. He’s not expected to practice this week, but also hasn’t been ruled out. If he doesn’t suit up for Week 3 against the Eagles, backup Tyson Bagent will be the starter. In the meantime, until Williams does come back to the field, the back-and-forth reactions to his injury might not go away.