When Lions coach Dan Campbell announced Sunday that second-string quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had decided to retire, his mind flashed back six years. When Campbell was the Saints’ tight ends coach, Drew Brees hurt his thumb when he whacked the Rams’ Aaron Donald on his follow-through. Bridgewater took over as the starter for five weeks — including a 36-25 thumping of the Bears at Soldier Field.
“We lost him for five weeks and Teddy stepped in and we won five in a row, man. …” Campbell said. “He’s going to be missed.”
In the modern NFL, everyone needs a reliable backup quarterback — and a strong quarterback room to support the starter.
The Bears don’t have the best starting quarterback in the NFC North, though they hope Caleb Williams continues to trend upward. Bridgewater’s retirement Sunday, though, only strengthens the argument that the Bears have the best quarterback room in the division.
The combination of Williams and second-stringer Tyson Bagent tops the other three duos.
The Lions’ Jared Goff ranked second in the NFL in passing yards and third in passer rating last year. The Lions scrambled to sign another passer Sunday, adding Josh Dobbs, who last year threw 10 passes for the Patriots. Former U of I standout Luke Altmayer is on the team as an undrafted free agent.
The Packers’ Jordan Love was sixth in the NFL in passer rating last year. His backup though, went to Miami this offseason. Malik Willis, who was 2-1 as the starter over the past two seasons, signed a three-year, $67.5 million deal, with $45 million guaranteed, in March. The Packers turned to Tyrod Taylor, a 37-year-old who was drafted when Williams was just 9 years old, as their second-stringer. Second-year quarterback Kyle McCord and Virginia Tech rookie Kyron Drones are their backups; neither has taken am NFL snap.
Then there are the Vikings — who, despite having three former first-round picks, have the most question marks in the NFC North. They signed former Cardinals No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray to a one-year deal to fight J.J. McCarthy, their own former first-round pick, for the starting job. Murray has played more first-team snaps during training camp and is considered the favorite to win the job. Murray played five games last year before getting hurt, then benched, then cut.
McCarthy is staring down a “bust” label after missing all his rookie year because of a knee injury and struggling in Year 2. Since 2020, there have been 39 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes in their first 10 NFL games. McCarthy’s 72.6 passer rating ranks 31st.
Carson Wentz is the Vikings’ third-stringer, Max Brosmer their fourth-stringer. Wentz went 2-3 as the Vikings’ starter last year, while Brosmer had a passer rating of 53.
The Bears know that Caleb Williams’ remarkable ability to avoid injury — he’s taken every relevant snap during his two years in the NFL — won’t last forever. They believe in Bagent, whom they gave a two-year, $10 million extension last year to keep him under contract through 2027. Bagent had the best play of practice Sunday, throwing a deep touchdown pass to a diving Kaden Davis on the final play of the day.
Bagent is wired like Bears head coach Ben Johnson — intense and particular.
“Usually, if Tyson makes the mistake, it’s fixed,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “He’s not making that same mistake again. And Ben and the rest of the coaching staff, I know they really appreciate guys like that.”
The Bears take pride in the continuity inside their quarterbacks room, too. The team’s top three quarterbacks — Williams, Bagent and Case Keenum — are in their second season together alongside quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett. Press Taylor, their new offensive coordinator, was the pass-game coordinator last season. Only fourth-string rookie quarterback Miller Moss, Williams’ former USC teammate, is new.
That support system helps Williams.
“Those guys have seen so much football — let alone, they’ve all been together here,” Taylor said. “So we all have, ‘Hey, remember Week 7 last year when this came up and we did this? Are we still doing that? Or do we want to do something different? Because Week 13, we got the same thing, we changed it based on whatever we want.’
“You have shared experience to pull from and be able to communicate through.”
The Bears can plow through their plans a lot faster. Last year, Taylor said, he had to worry about teaching the names of formations and pre-snap motions. Now the conversations are about mastering cadence or adding wrinkles to plays.
The Bears will get to see how the quarterbacks handle things against an opposing defense later this week. Williams doesn’t figure to play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Browns at Soldier Field. It would be surprising if Bagent played much. Keenum and Moss, though, should have plenty of chances.
“They’re all taking the next step,” Taylor said. “Having those guys be on the same page and be moving forward together is really special for us.”