The Chicago Bears' offseason has been ripe with changes as the Ben Johnson era begins. The start of May represented a new phase of excitement for Bears fans, as the annual three-day rookie minicamp will kick off on Friday before organized team activities (OTAs) get underway less than two weeks later.
The action ramping up means it's time for several returning Bears veterans to prove their worth. Chicago will only taste playoff football again if everyone on the roster does their part, meaning everyone must show worth in the coming weeks.
With that being said, one Bears veteran is likely facing more of an uphill battle than some of his teammates this month.
Bears QB Tyson Bagent is Facing an Uphill Battle Before OTAs Begin
Second-year stud Caleb Williams is, without any doubts, the future of the Bears' quarterback position. The order of Chicago's QB depth chart beyond Williams could unfold in a few different ways, though, potentially spelling bad news for Tyson Bagent.
Bagent, 24, is a former Shepherd University product who joined the Bears after going undrafted in 2023. The Martinsburg, WV native racked up over 17,000 passing yards and 159 touchdown passes in his five seasons with the Rams, leading to Chicago bringing him in to see if his presence could light a fire beneath the now-departed Justin Fields.
Since moving to the Windy City, Bagent has made nine appearances (4 starts) across the last two seasons. He led the Bears to a 2-2 record in those outings, completing 96-of-145 attempts for 870 passing yards with three touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 71.9 passer rating.
Of course, there was also the manufactured "QB controversy" last season. Reports emerged of Bears veterans apparently wanting Bagent to start over Caleb Williams. And then reports later surfaced that the source of those alleged "leaks" was Bagent's own father.
Even though he showed some promise at times, Bagent clearly isn't suited to be a QB2 just yet. His path to being Williams' backup became even murkier early in April when the Bears signed veteran gunslinger Case Keenum to a one-year contract.
Keenum missed all of 2024 with a serious foot injury, but his experience might be too much for Johnson & Co. to ignore. The 37-year-old signal-caller has thrown for 15,175 passing yards, 79 TDs (to 51 INTs), and an 84.6 passer rating across 80 career outings (66 starts), making him potentially more reliable as the QB2 than Bagent would be.
That's without mentioning 2024 undrafted QB Austin Reed, who will also be hungry to compete for snaps this summer. Even though the ex-Western Kentucky product has yet to play a regular-season snap, Reed did display some potential by going 12-of-16 (75.0%) in the pocket for 123 passing yards, one TD, and a 117.4 passer rating in three appearances last preseason.
Unless he immediately proves to be invaluable to Johnson, Bagent's chances of being the Bears' QB2 are far from guaranteed. Only time will tell if he'll step up to the challenge or step aside as he's passed by his replacement.