The Bears’ first flicker of belief in quarterback Tyson Bagent was in his senior year at Division II Shepherd University, when personnel executive Jeff King and scout Tom Bradway came back raving that they’d found hidden gem who checked every box.
It was a small school, but Bagent had the arm, the mind and the personality to become an NFL quarterback. There was something about him.
Then he beat out veteran P.J. Walker for a spot as an undrafted rookie.
Then he played decently in a stint replacing Justin Fields.
Then he convinced new coach Ben Johnson and got a two-year, $10 million contract extension mostly from what he showed on the practice field and in meeting rooms.
Throughout, he endeared himself to the organization with his scrappy story.
Bagent was a high school football and basketball star who adored the West Virginia Mountaineers, but couldn’t get a sniff from his favorite school. His father, Travis, is a professional arm wrestler. And when he got that contract last year, he broke down crying as he thought about his dad growing up without running water and how many people back home he could help with his newfound money.
He’s an easy guy to root for.
The Bears’ belief in Bagent could catch fire Sunday against the Jets if they’re willing to entrust their season to him. Starting quarterback Caleb Williams is out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, leaving Johnson to decide between Bagent and veteran Case Keenum.
Keenum was fantastic against the Eagles on Monday, but got that start only because Bagent had spent most of the week in the concussion protocol. Johnson refused to name a starter, but has said Bagent won the No. 2 spot “for a reason,” and the team has been dying to see what he can do with an opportunity like this.
Johnson said his staff was divided on who should start after Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdown passes for a 110.8 passer rating in the 27-7 win over the Eagles. The offense worked like a machine as he got the ball out quickly to open receivers.
But Keenum, 38, is in the final phase of his career and hasn’t put together consecutive performances of that caliber since 2019. Bagent, meanwhile, is still climbing.
“I don’t know that there’s necessarily a right answer or a wrong answer,” Johnson said Friday. “Both of them are well prepared to play and win a game for us, so I’m excited about that.”
Bagent has barely played since the Bears drafted Williams, who hadn’t missed significant time before getting hurt Sept. 20 against the Vikings, and he has played just 13 games over four seasons. That includes Johnson using him on a play against the Bengals last season in which Bagent lined up at wide receiver, caught a lateral pass from Williams, then threw a screen pass back to Williams for a 20-yard gain.
In total, Bagent has completed 65.8% of passes for 971 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions (all as a rookie) for a 73.0 passer rating. Those numbers don’t mean much considering how sporadic and short his opportunities were.
If Bagent starts Sunday, it would be by far the most advantageous situation he’s ever had. He knows the system front to back and would be stepping into an offense just a few weeks removed from scoring 59 points.
He also could hold the job a while. While Williams is ambitious about his return, the reality is a hamstring injury that severe usually keeps a player out a month or more. The possibility that this could be a multi-game assignment could push Johnson to go with Bagent over Keenum.
The Bears have had two main goals in their development of Bagent: an insurance policy and an asset.
Going back to his rookie season, general manager Ryan Poles believed Bagent was good enough to keep the Bears afloat if needed, and even then he went 2-2 as their starter. In the recent offseason, the team rebuffed trade interest to keep him as a contingency for a scenario just like this.
The Bears went into this season shooting for the Super Bowl and wanted a backup quarterback who could keep them on that track if needed.
But there’s also precedent for a backup like Bagent netting a second-round draft pick if another team buys that he’s starter material. The Bears and Bagent have intertwined interests in him playing well enough to earn a job elsewhere, as Poles could turn an undrafted player into a valuable pick and Bagent could earn a massive payday.
He’s been a favorite of the Bears and their fanbase without playing much, simply for his grit and likability. He backed Fields and Williams at every turn and couldn’t say enough about how much he enjoyed watching Keenum shine Monday. He signed that extension because he believed he could learn more as a backup for Johnson than being a starter on another team. And this could be the moment his and the Bears’ patience pays off.