The Chicago Bears have reportedly made a decision on their starting quarterback with Caleb Williams still sidelined by a hamstring strain. The Athletic reports that Tyson Bagent will take over under center on Sunday when Chicago hosts the New York Jets. Bagent was always viewed as the Bears' backup quarterback, but the veteran Case Keenum was forced to step in when Bagent spent most of last week in concussion protocol.
The 38-year-old Keenum registered one of the most shocking upsets of this young season, as he threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. His performance made it a legitimate question of who would start in Week 4, but head coach Ben Johnson is going back to his original second-stringer. "We'll have a discussion as a coaching staff, and we'll see where we need to go from here," Johnson said earlier this week.
"But I said it last week, and I'll say it again. There was a reason why Tyson ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback." The Bears will become the third team to ever start three different quarterbacks through the first four weeks of the season, and the first since the 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars, per CBS Sports Research. Bagent found his way to the Bears in 2023 after going undrafted out of Shepherd University -- a Division II school in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
He did enough in his first preseason to earn a spot on the final 53-man roster, and ended up making four starts as a rookie! In Week 7 that year, Bagent won his first career start against the Las Vegas Raiders by throwing for 162 yards and one touchdown. He then lost back-to-back starts against the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints before defeating No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers in prime time, 16-13.
Bagent hasn't made a start since his wild rookie season, but did earn a two-year, $10 million extension with the Bears prior to the 2025 campaign. It made him the first Bears quarterback to sign a contract extension since Jay Cutler did so in January 2014, according to The Athletic. Now, he has a chance to earn Chicago its third win of the season.
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