The Bears’ quarterback picture has taken an unexpected twist just days before Week 4.
Case Keenum looked the part in Chicago’s 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on "Monday Night Football," throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns without an interception while adding his first rushing touchdown since 2019. For a 38-year-old quarterback who hadn’t appeared in a regular-season game since December 2023, it was about as clean and complete a performance as the Bears could have asked for.
Still, that showing may not have locked him into the job against the New York Jets.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Friday that Bears head coach Ben Johnson has not named a starter, but Tyson Bagent has taken first-team reps this week over Keenum. That does not make the decision official, but it certainly points in Bagent’s direction.
Bagent brings a different look to the offense. He is younger, more mobile, and now fully healthy after just clearing concussion protocol before the Eagles game and missing most of last week’s practices. He also entered the season as Caleb Williams’ backup, which makes a move back to him at least understandable from a roster standpoint.
That said, Keenum’s Monday night performance was hard to ignore.
Bagent’s most recent extended run came after Williams went down with a hamstring injury in the Vikings’ loss, when he finished 5 of 9 for 54 yards with no touchdowns. Those numbers were not eye-catching, though the Bears have believed enough in him to give him a two-year, $10 million extension last year.
For now, Johnson is keeping the door open. And if the Bears do hand the offense to Bagent, it sounds like they’ll be trusting a plan they already have in place.
In Other News...
Jets Loss Raised A Bigger Concern Than Just One Bad Sunday
The Jets left Week 4 with a 1-3 record, but the loss to the Bears felt like more than just another bad Sunday. Chicago kept the pressure on with a long, sustained offensive rhythm, running 89 plays and finding success both on the ground and through the air, which put New Yorks defense in chase mode for much of the afternoon. For a team trying to establish some early-season footing, that kind of imbalance is a warning sign as much as it is a loss.
Geno Smiths uneven day added to the unease, as he completed 8 of 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while the offense never really found a steady pulse. Garrett Wilson and other key pieces were not featured enough, which only sharpened the sense that this was not just about one quarterback or one game plan. The bigger concern is whether the Jets are already drifting into a pattern where both sides of the ball are too inconsistent to support a turnaround. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Backfield Question Just Got More Uncomfortable For Aaron Glenn
Isaiah Davis has become one of the quieter mysteries in the Jets backfield, and the timing has only made it more noticeable. Even with Breece Hall sidelined for a recent game because of injury, Davis did not get an offensive snap, while Braelon Allen handled all 14 carries in the loss to the Chicago Bears. For a third-year running back on a team still sorting out its rushing workload, that kind of usage raises obvious questions about how the Jets are viewing the depth chart.
Aaron Glenn has not publicly explained Daviss absence from the offense, and Davis himself has not addressed the lack of touches. In a backfield already under scrutiny, the silence only adds to the unease around how the Jets are managing their running backs and whether they have enough trust in the options behind Hall. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Have A New Reason To Revisit That Chippy Lions Loss
The Jets already had plenty to stew over from that chippy loss to Detroit, and the leagues latest accountability report added another layer to it. On Wednesday, the NFL fined Lions receiver Jameson Williams $23,417 for unnecessary roughness after helmet-to-helmet contact in the game against New York, a reminder of how heated that matchup got and how often the Lions were walking a line.
Williams has now been fined multiple times this season, including earlier penalties for taunting and illegal celebrations, and he was not the only Detroit player on the report. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jahmyr Gibbs also drew fines for celebrations and vulgar acts, giving Jets fans a fresh reason to revisit a game that already carried more edge than the final score suggested. [Read more 🡒]