(104.3 The Score) Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will continue to wear an unauthorized cleats brand designed to protect players from non-contact leg injuries.
Williams has recently donned cleats from the brand Caddix. He's subject to fines of more than $11,941 each game when the logo is displayed, though Caddix has offered to cover those fines so long as Williams continues to wear its cleats.
"I’m huge into my body," Williams said. "I’m huge into trying to stay on the field. I’m huge into trying to be healthy. It’s a rough game and things like that. So, the cleats, they’ve been great. They’ve been super comfy and they’ve worked. They are a science type of cleat. It’s something that focuses on when you plant on the hard plants on turf or grass, they call them SmartStuds, and they move when you move in these hard plants. They take tension off of your tendons, your joints and all of that.
"Over the course of a long career or over the course of a long year, when you can take some percentage – it could be one, it could 50, it could be 12, it could be whatever. When you take that percentage off consistently over a period of time, you get to have the chance, a higher chance of being healthy. And so that’s what I focus on. I try to be healthy. They’re smart cleats. They’re science cleats, and they’ve been working for me. A bunch of other guys wear them in the league, and they’re forward-focused on making sure players stay on the field, and that’s what I’m always focused on."
Williams isn't a paid endorser of Caddix, whose cleats feature studs that flex in turf to reduce stress on knees and ankles.
Williams suffered a hamstring injury during the Bears' game on Sept. 20 at Soldier Field. He has worn Caddix cleats in each game since.
"I think my joints, my ankles and my knees and my feet haven’t bothered me as much from the other cleats that I’ve worn," Williams said.
"They’ve worked for me and I feel that I feel a difference. That’s my opinion."
The Bears (5-2) will visit the Seahawks (4-3) on Monday night in Seattle. The team will issue its first injury report of the week Thursday.
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
