Caleb Williams has officially been ruled out of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, which means the Bears will be moving forward with one of their backups. Veteran Case Keenum holds the third spot in the Bears' quarterback room, while Tyson Bagent stands as the primary backup behind Caleb Williams. But as of Saturday night, the Bears have yet to announce who the starter will be.
Bagent emerged from his emergency assignment in Week 2 on his feet, but in the concussion protocol. It came as a surprise to Bears fans, due to the fact that Bagent finished the game. This prompted the Bears to push Keenum to first team reps in practice during the week.
It makes sense. Every team out there is going to hang onto every competitive advantage they have, and while the Bears don't have any obligation to reveal who's starting, why would they? Bagent and Keenum bring a vastly different game to the table, and therefore, the defense must account for that.
The concussion protocol is the whole story
One major factor at play here is whether or not Bagent will clear the concussion protocol. According to Courtney Cronin, Bagent hadn't returned to Halas Hall until Friday, where he took part in meetings. The Bears got a very hopeful sign on Saturday when Bagent was cleared for full practice, but that doesn't mean he's cleared protocol yet.
In order for Bagent to suit up on Monday, he needs to clear consecutive days without symptoms.
If the Bears were playing on Sunday like most other teams, I'd wager Keenum is getting the start. But with Bagent returning to full practice on Saturday, and the Bears have an extra day in between, it's likely going to be Bagent under center.
We won't know anything for certain until about 90 minutes before kickoff unless the Bears decide to release it, and that's what adds so much to the tension. Nobody expects a backup quarterback to beat the 2-0 Eagles on Primetime, but this is the NFL, and anything can happen.
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