The Bears are heading toward Monday night with a quarterback picture that’s still cloudy, and as of Friday evening, they weren’t giving away any answers.
Head coach Ben Johnson said Chicago could turn to any of its three options at quarterback in Week 3, and the team is not planning to add anyone else to the mix. That means the situation will ride all the way through the weekend with multiple possibilities still on the table.
Caleb Williams is dealing with a grade 1 hamstring injury, and all signs point to him sitting out. Johnson said it would be a stretch for Williams to play, and the quarterback has not practiced. Even so, the Bears are still labeling him week-to-week and plan to decide on his status before the game.
If Williams can’t go, Tyson Bagent is expected to get the start. Bagent has backed up Williams throughout his career and entered last week’s game after Williams was injured, but he then suffered a concussion of his own. By Friday, he appeared to be moving through the protocol, though Chicago still has more steps to clear before making any call.
Johnson made one thing plain: if Bagent is healthy, he’s the guy the Bears want to use.
That leaves Case Keenum as the fallback. The 38-year-old has mostly served as a veteran presence for the younger quarterbacks, helping in meetings and offering experience, but he has been taking first-team reps this week.
Chicago also has Miller Moss as its fourth quarterback. The Bears will likely use a practice squad elevation on him.
If Williams is active, Moss can simply be made inactive. If Williams is out, Moss would serve as the emergency third-string quarterback.
But if Bagent can’t play, the Bears would have Moss as the backup and no emergency third quarterback behind him. In that scenario, they’d have to turn to a position player. That’s the risk that comes with not bringing in another quarterback and holding out hope on Williams until game day.
For now, the Bears are still waiting on Bagent’s status, and that decision may end up shaping the whole night.
In Other News...
Bears Offensive Problem Just Got Harder For Ben Johnson To Ignore
The Bears offense was already in a tough spot before Caleb Williams left Sundays 9-3 loss to the Vikings with a hamstring injury. Chicago moved the ball better than Minnesota in total yards, but it never turned that into a touchdown, and the day turned into another reminder that sustaining drives and finishing possessions are still very much a problem. Williams went 15 of 26 for 138 yards with an interception before exiting, and the lack of rhythm around him made the entire unit look stuck in place.
Now Ben Johnson has a bigger question hanging over a team that already needed answers. The Bears are set to face the Eagles next, and if Williams cannot go, the offense will have to be reshaped on the fly while also trying to fix the same issues that showed up against Minnesota. For a staff looking for signs of progress, the timing could hardly be worse. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Fans Got One Bit Of Relief After A Brutal Week
The week did not get any kinder for the Bears after their loss to the Vikings, especially with the Caleb Williams injury situation now hanging over everything as Chicago looks ahead. At 1-2, the margin for error is already thin, and the next stretch only gets more important if the rookie quarterbacks availability remains in question.
Green Bay, however, gave Bears fans a small dose of comfort on Sunday by taking a 35-14 beating from the Falcons. Jordan Love never settled in, and the Packers defense had no answer for Bijan Robinson, offering Chicago at least a reminder that the NFC North race is still very much unsettled even as the Bears sort through their own concerns. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Found A Kickoff Edge The NFL May Not Let Last
Philadelphias special teams found a little extra juice on kickoffs in Week 2 by using a setup that put the ball at an angle on the ground without a tee, a wrinkle devised by special teams coordinator Michael Clay. The approach is legal right now, and it helped the Eagles get better results on a play that can quietly swing field position, which is exactly why other staffs around the league noticed.
Richard Hightower and the Bears are among the teams watching closely, because the NFL may not let the tactic linger for long. League officials are expected to address the rule before the upcoming Eagles-Bears game, with the possibility that a tee could soon be required again and take away the edge Philadelphia just found. [Read more 🡒]