Fantasy Football Impact: Caleb Williams Injures Hamstring in Week 2

Williams was carted off after an awkward fall on Sunday. How does his injury affect the fantasy football landscape?

Sep 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) sits with a towel over his head as he is carted-off the field with an apparent injury against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Injuries happen every single NFL Sunday, but one of the marquee players that seemed to be defining the 2026 season had us all holding out breath on Sunday.

Caleb Williams scrambled to his left and awkwardly fell to the turf as he was in search of a late, game-winning touchdown. The collective hush of the crowd followed by this as he was carted to the locker room made it seem Williams' season may be over:

🫶 pic.twitter.com/WCL5Kib0Vk

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 20, 2026

Luckily for Bears fans and enjoyers of good quarterback, initial reports indicate it's definitely not a season-ending hamstring issue.

How long will Williams be out, and how does this affect fantasy football?

Caleb Williams Hamstring Injury Details and Prognosis

On Monday's NFL Network's Tom Pelissero confirmed just a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Williams.

As defined by Princeton Sports and Medicine, a Grade 1 strain would mean that it's not impossible for Williams to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 -- especially since it's a Monday night contest. The typical recovery window is 1-3 weeks.

All in all, the worst fear that came from Williams' reaction isn't reality. Now, we just have to figure out the timetable.

Fantasy Football Impact of Caleb Williams' Hamstring Injury

Far, far worse injuries occured just this week than a small hamstring tweak, so a little patience is really the fantasy impact of a Grade 1 strain.

According to Pro Football Network's Impact Rankings, Chicago has the fourth-best offensive line in the league, and the only two fantasy players on the Bears you could "sell high" at the moment are D'Andre Swift (22.7 FPPG in PPR formats) and Kyle Monangai (14.1). The Bears are 10th in rush rate (46%) despite trailing for most Week 2, as well.

It's status quo there. They absolutely will continue to pound the rock with Tyson Bagent under center.

Bagent's last extended action came in 2023, and he averaged a poor -0.31 expected points added per drop back (EPA/db), per NFLSavant. After performing well in preseasons and getting a contract from the Ben Johnson regime, there is optimism for better, but he's got no history of being an effective starter.

For now, I think it's a frustrating hold on the bench for receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. Odunze has ran 88.0% of the routes but has managed just a 12.5% target share in two wonky scripts. Burden III has, unfortunately, worked behind Kalif Raymond in two-receiver sets, but his talent in the slot -- in more normal Bears game scripts with Williams -- is still appealing.

The one Chicago player I'm selling for the purpose of "name value" is Colston Loveland. Some fantasy managers might be desperate to buy low on a preseason dark horse pick for TE1 overall on the basis of a strong playoff run, but the case was always a bit flimsy. He had just a 14.8% target share last year, and it's 9.0% this year. Loveland will have better Sundays than a combined 1 catch for 3 yards in two weeks, but the predictability of them might not be worth the headache.