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Dave Portnoy raises suspicions over Caleb Williams injury refusal
Dave Portnoy took another shot at Caleb Williams
Dave Portnoy took another shot at Caleb Williams (Image: Getty)

Dave Portnoy took another shot at Caleb Williams over his hamstring injury, even as the Bears quarterback returned with a big performance.

Caleb Williams returned from his hamstring injury with one of the best games of his career. Dave Portnoy is still not buying what he's saying about it.

Williams threw for 305 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-36 passing in Chicago's 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, where the FOX announcer was caught off guard by a wild Tom Brady remark about Williams. The Bears improved to 4-2. It was his first game back after missing three weeks with the hamstring injury he suffered Sept. 20 against the Minnesota Vikings.

After the game, Williams skipped off the field, cupped a hand to his ear to rile up the traveling Bears fans, and asked reporters outside the visitors' locker room a question. "Y'all like that?" Williams said, smiling.

Portnoy, the Barstool Sports founder, was one of Williams's loudest critics after the injury. Williams screamed in pain, was carted off and gave the crowd a thumbs-up on the way out. Early reports said the injury was a Grade 1 or 2 strain, and Portnoy argued the reaction was excessive.

Williams addressed it at his press conference before the Falcons game. "It was a hamstring tear and a pretty serious one," Williams said.

Asked to confirm the grade, he declined. "We got a grade, but I wouldn't say it's deserved to be put out there after all the false ones," Williams said.

Portnoy pounced on that answer. He posted, "Some real 3D chess here by Caleb," and followed it with a sharper question on his Barstool show.

"What level of tear do you think he had that he won't show us the documentation?" Portnoy said. He accused of Williams of toying with the NFL world, saying his thought process resembled, "I have a really bad hamstring, I have proof it, but I'm not going to show it for all the haters that doubt it."

The two have been trading shots for a month. After the Vikings game, Williams reposted a tweet that mocked Portnoy over a 2025 incident in which a Mississippi State student threw coins at him during a pizza review.

Portnoy responded that Williams was "spreading disinformation" and said he would not hold it against him. "He's an emotional guy and in his feelings after tweaking his hammy," Portnoy wrote.

On the field, Williams offered little to argue with. He completed his first 12 passes, a career best, and his 83 percent completion rate also set a career high. He was 26-of-26 when Atlanta failed to generate pressure, the most such attempts without an incompletion since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009. The Bears went 9-of-17 on third down and 4-for-4 in the red zone.

Williams said his leg felt strong. "I felt confident from the jump," Williams said. "When I get out there, I'm going to feel confident in my leg, in myself and in my guys and the O-line."

The Bears play the New England Patriots on Thursday.

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