Former Chicago Bears quarterback lands a new opportunity to revitalize his professional football career in the spring
Austin Reed will get the opportunity to compete for a starting job in the UFL.
The Chicago Bears are in the heart of the NFC playoff race and starting to build some serious momentum for a shot a winning the Super Bowl this season.
But, even if the Bears do go all the way, there’s only a few more weeks until the 2025-26 NFL season comes to a close and the long process begins toward the next season.
While the offseason can be filled with some excitement with free agency and the upcoming draft, some people need that live action football fix to get through the offseason. That’s why the United Football League exists, to give those die-hard football fans some spring action and even get to see some familiar faces from the NFL. For Chicago Bears fans, you might recognize one QB this spring if you tune into some spring football.
Former Bears QB Austin Reed drafted by the Dallas Renegades
On Monday, the UFL started the drafting process for the 2026 season and all eight teams started it off by selecting their top quarterbacks. The list includes multiple NFL players and recent draft picks including Matt Corral, Jaren Hall, Clayton Tune, and other spring football standouts from previous seasons.
Former Bears undrafted free agent and cult favorite Austin Reed was among those quarterback selected and he will be joining the Dallas Renegades alongside Luis Perez, who led the Renegades to a win in the 2023 XFL Championship Game.
Reed signed with the Bears following the 2024 NFL Draft after a standout career at Western Kentucky, where he totaled 8,086 passing yards and 71 passing touchdowns in his two seasons. Following a solid preseason in his rookie year, Reed served on the Bears practice squad with Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent serving as the two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
The next season, Reed stuck around in Chicago throughout the offseason under the new coaching staff led by head coach Ben Johnson.
“I see a lot of myself in Austin,” Johnson said last May. “Young guy that just needs a shot and is hungry, doesn’t get a lot of reps but makes the most of it when he can.”
Reps were hard to come by that summer with Reed serving as the team’s fourth quarterback behind Williams, Bagent, and veteran addition Case Keenum. In the preseason, Reed did get some limited work completing 11 of his 17 passes for 107 yards, mainly in fourth quarter clean up action.
Late in the summer, Johnson noted the Bears had the best quarterback room of any team he’s been around from top to bottom. That made it a tough call to not only leave Reed off the 53-man roster, but also decide not to have him back on the practice squad for the 2025-26 season.
After being waived by the Bears, Reed now gets a fresh start in Dallas to revitalize his professional football career and make the most of this opportunity in the spring.
Reed has that classic old-school gunslinger approach going back to his time at Western Kentucky with a really strong arm. Spending the entire summer under an offensive genius in Ben Johnson, who is precise with the details, is the best possible coaching Reed could have received. Now, he finally gets an opportunity to have a lot more reps and show off that development.
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