Caleb Williams criticism after Bears injury has officially gone too far

By Monday morning, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams apparently had another item to add to the growing list of things people don't like about him: the way he gets hurt.

It didn't take long for the jokes to start once the news about Williams became encouraging.

Former NFL linebacker Will Compton was among the loudest. After learning Williams had avoided a major injury, Compton said, "You can't scream like that and get carted off for a hamstring."

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports joined in, calling Williams "The Thespian" while mocking how serious the injury initially appeared based on the quarterback's reaction.

Emmanuel Acho questioned the tears and screaming after learning Williams had avoided a major injury. Craig Carton went even further, criticizing the entire scene and questioning whether Williams needed to be so dramatic.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Here's mine: This is getting ridiculous.

We are not Caleb Williams.

We don't know how much pain he felt when his leg gave out Sunday. We don't know what went through his head when he tried to stand and needed help getting off the field. We don't know what he thought happened to his knee, hamstring or anything else in his right leg.

More importantly, neither did Williams.

Bears quarterback didn't have the benefit of hindsight

That's the part getting conveniently ignored in all of this.

Williams wasn't sitting on that cart with Monday's medical report in his hand. He didn't know he had avoided a major injury. He didn't know whether he would play the following week, the following month or again this season.

His leg gave out without contact. He was in pain. That's what he knew.

Everyone making jokes now has information Williams didn't have when the injury happened.

Sure, it's easy to watch the replay a day later, learn that the injury wasn't as serious as initially feared and laugh about the reaction. It's a little different when it's your leg and your career.

Then there's the thumbs up.

That gesture has somehow become part of the criticism, which might be the strangest part of this entire thing.

Williams was being carted off Soldier Field after thousands of Bears fans had just watched their franchise quarterback go down. He gave the crowd a thumbs up.

That's it.

Athletes have done some version of that forever. They raise a hand. They pump a fist. They give a thumbs up. When you're leaving the field and fans are worried about you, you want to give them some reassurance.

Williams wasn't announcing that he had survived a catastrophic injury. He wasn't asking everyone to admire his courage.

He acknowledged the fans watching him leave.

Apparently we're policing that now, too.

Good Caleb Williams news shouldn't become the punchline

The Bears eventually received the news everyone wanted.

Williams avoided a major injury and is considered week to week with a right hamstring issue. Chicago hasn't even completely ruled him out for its next game.

That's great news.

It doesn't retroactively change what Williams experienced Sunday.

Pain doesn't wait for an MRI before deciding how badly it hurts. Fear doesn't wait either. Anyone who has played sports knows that awful few seconds after something gives, pops or simply doesn't feel right. Your first thought isn't to carefully consider how your reaction might look on social media the following afternoon.

You react.

Williams reacted.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize the Bears quarterback. Pick apart his performance against Minnesota. Question his decision making. Debate his development. Wonder why an offense that scored 59 points in Week 1 managed only three against the Vikings.

That's football.

But deciding Williams cried too much, screamed too loudly or wasn't injured badly enough to give Bears fans a thumbs up while being carted away?

Come on.

The good news is Williams apparently avoided the kind of injury everyone feared when he went down.

That should be the end of the story.

Instead, some people are using the good news as evidence that Williams somehow handled getting hurt incorrectly.

He didn't know the diagnosis. He knew he was hurt.

There is a pretty big difference.

If giving Bears fans a thumbs up on the way off the field is now considered being too dramatic, maybe Williams isn't the one who needs to toughen up.

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