Despite arguing he should remain the Bears’ starting quarterback while Caleb Williams deals with a hamstring issue, Case Keenum will be the backup to Tyson Bagent on Sunday against the New York Jets, multiple outlets reported Saturday.
Bagent, an undrafted free agent out of Division II Shepherd University who signed a two-year extension with Chicago in August 2025, is expected to get the Week 4 start.
Although coach Ben Johnson praised Keenum for a primetime showing in which the 38-year-old threw for 247 yards and was responsible for three touchdowns (including a QB sneak) in a 27-7 win over the Eagles, Johnson also reiterated why Bagent has been the primary backup to Williams.
Keenum was in the lineup for Week 3 because Bagent missed much of the week of practice while in concussion protocol. Bagent suffered the head injury late in the fourth quarter of the previous game, a rain-soaked 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, when he had been filling in for Williams. Williams’ injury has most recently been described as a Grade 2 hamstring strain that could keep him out for about a month.
According to Ian Rapoport via ESPN, Bagent handled most of the first-team reps in practice this week.
Bagent is not new to starting regular-season games for Chicago. As a rookie in 2023 under then-head coach Matt Eberflus, he started four straight games (Weeks 7–10) in place of an injured Justin Fields and went 2-2. That stretch began with a 30-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in which he completed 72.4% of his passes with one touchdown and no interceptions. Across those four games he showed accuracy but also turnover issues — a 3-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 65.1% completion rate — while adding 105 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
It’s been more than 1,050 days since Bagent last started a regular-season game; Keenum had a comparable gap before his standout performance last Monday.
Fan take: This matters because the Bears’ quarterback carousel will shape their short-term competitiveness and the development timeline for Caleb Williams. How Bagent performs with this opportunity could influence roster decisions around backup QBs leaguewide and highlight how teams manage injuries to franchise signal-callers.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
