The Bears are staring at a messy Week 3 situation, and it goes well beyond Caleb Williams’ hamstring. Chicago already came off a wild Week 1 where it put up 59 points, then followed that with a rough three-point showing in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Now the offense may have to navigate Philadelphia without its starting quarterback - and possibly without Tyson Bagent, too.
Williams is questionable after the hamstring injury, and Bagent has a concussion that could keep him out against the Eagles. That leaves Ben Johnson with a decision tree nobody wanted this early in the season.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out, the wrinkle here is bigger than just losing Williams. If Williams can’t go, Johnson would be calling plays for Tyson Bagent, if he clears concussion protocol, or Case Keenum. And that would mean Johnson is in a spot he has never been in before: calling plays for a quarterback who was not drafted No. 1 overall.
"On Monday night -- if Williams' hamstring injury keeps him from playing -- Johnson will be calling plays for Tyson Bagent (if he clears concussion protocol) or Case Keenum," Florio writes.
That would break a run that stretches through Johnson’s time with the Detroit Lions and into Chicago. From 2022 through 2024, Johnson was the play-caller in Detroit, with Jared Goff starting every game. Then he moved to the Bears in 2025, and Williams has started every game last season and the first two weeks of this season.
Johnson has certainly dealt with backup quarterbacks before, but not in this exact setup - not with the backup elevated because the starter was injured, and not with the offense beginning a game without a quarterback taken No. 1 overall.
If Williams is unable to play, this would mark the first time Johnson has called plays for an offense starting someone other than a No. 1 overall pick. It’s a pretty unusual streak, and it lands at a tough moment with the Eagles and their defense waiting in Week 3.
Still, Johnson has earned the benefit of the doubt. He has been one of the better play-callers in his coaching career, and the Bears would be leaning on him to squeeze as much as possible out of Keenum or Bagent if Williams can’t suit up.
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Mekhi Becton suddenly sits in the middle of that conversation. He played a useful role for Philadelphia during its 2024 Super Bowl run before leaving for the Los Angeles Chargers, but his season since then has been marked by injuries and uneven play. Even so, the idea of a second chance is hard to dismiss when the Eagles are searching for answers up front and know exactly what Becton looked like when things were working here. [Read more 🡒]