EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said Wednesday he will continue to sport the Caddix cleats he was fined $11,941 for wearing during Chicago's Week 6 win at Atlanta."(I'm) focused on my health," Williams said. "I'm focused on being able to be out here for the guys. And if that can give me a small percentage up and it works, then that's what I'm gonna do."The NFL fined Williams for a uniform violation for wearing an unauthorized logo on his shoes. Only Nike, Adidas and Under Armour have partnerships with the NFL, and if a player chooses to wear a shoe by another brand, the logo must be covered.Williams told ESPN on Wednesday he does not plan to cover or black out the Caddix logo when he wears them for Chicago's next game at Seattle on Nov. 2. He has already appealed his Week 6 fine, according to a source, and it is unclear whether he will receive an additional fine for wearing the same brand of cleats during the Bears' win over the Patriots last Thursday.Williams wore Caddix cleats throughout the preseason and during the Bears' first two regular-season games. After missing Weeks 3-5 with a hamstring injury, he returned to action against Atlanta and New England, becoming the first Bears quarterback since Mitchell Trubisky (2018) to record back-to-back 300-yard passing games.Williams wore Nike cleats throughout the 2024-25 seasons and said he had been trying to make the switch to Caddix "for about a year." He does not currently have a contract with the company.Founded in 2015, Caddix was built around patented "SmartStuds" technology which is "designed to flex and release during cutting and pivoting, reducing rotational torque transmitted through the foot and into the knees and ankles, a force associated with non-contact ACL tears and other knee and ankle injuries," according to the company's website.Williams said the decision he made to be one of an estimated 40 NFL players currently wearing Caddix cleats was due to the shoe's focus on injury prevention. The quarterback also noted how his joints, ankles, knees and feet have not bothered him "as much from the other cleats that I've worn.""As we've known for the past couple of years now, 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. So 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, you know. When you take that percentage off consistently over a period of time, you know, 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."Caddix has a hearing with the NFL on Nov. 10 and plans to pay Williams' fine if the quarterback's appeal fails, according to a source.Both Caddix founder Jack Rasmussen and current NFL quarterback Joe Flacco, who is listed as one the company's four athlete advisors, have said they will cover Williams' fines should the NFL continue to penalize him for wearing non-league-approved cleats."If Caleb gets fined again for wearing Caddix, I'll pay the fine myself," Flacco said. "I've worn these cleats for years, and I know firsthand the difference they make. When you're playing at this level, you need equipment you can trust. This isn't about making a statement or breaking the rules just to break them. It's about wearing gear that works for you and helps keep you safe on the field. If Caleb believes in Caddix the way I do, I'm happy to stand behind him."Added Rasmussen: "From a safety metric perspective, Caleb's cleats are one of the safest pairs players can wear. Regardless if this is a marketing fine or not, I'm happy to pay it."ESPN's Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
