Caleb Williams is dealing with a minor injury to his throwing hand after surgery to remove a cyst. The starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears wore a cast (or wrap or brace) to USC’s home basketball game on Saturday for precautionary reasons.
It is not serious.
Williams, drafted No. 1 overall in 2024, played in all 17 games of his rookie season. He did not miss a single start during the first year of his NFL career. At no point was he listed on the injury report.
However, unless the 23-year-old is making some kind of wild fashion statement or trolling, something is going on behind the scenes that has not yet been made public. You don’t wear a cast for no reason!
The former Heisman Trophy winner pulled up to the Galen Center to watch USC basketball host its first-ever Big Ten matchup against Wisconsin. Williams arrived to the arena shortly before tipoff and was spotted from a distance with a white wrap on his right hand. It reaches from the middle of his forearm to the end of his metacarpals, right after the knuckle. His fingers are exposed.
Caleb Williams right hand features a cast #nooooooooo pic.twitter.com/0aOXgwWs5c
— wesley “ooter” johnson (@ooterjohnson) January 18, 2025
It did appear to be a stabilizing support brace for medical purposes, not a fashionable hand cloth or anything weird like that.
Caleb Williams is at the #USC MBB game. Has some sort of wrapping/cast around his right forearm. #Bears #NFL pic.twitter.com/h6B1EuZ0VS
— Kasey Kazliner (@KaseyKazliner) January 18, 2025
Although the news was already out there, the Big Ten Network really put Caleb Williams on blast. The broadcast cut to the Bears’ quarterback during the first half.
Former @uscfb QB (and current @ChicagoBears QB) Caleb Williams is here for the Wisconsin/USC showdown 🤩#B1GMBBall on @BigTenNetwork 📺 pic.twitter.com/7IawhgMYyi
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 18, 2025
Not only was he wearing the cast, it was evident that he was unable to clap like normal. There was no way to hide it.
So what is going on with Caleb Williams? Nobody knew for certain at first and panic spread like wildfire throughout the Windy City.
Have no fear, he is perfectly fine. According to his camp, Williams had a cyst removed from his hand. The cast/brace/wrap is precautionary to protect the stitches. No big deal. Breathe easy, Chicago!