Quarterback might not be the only positional change the Bears could make going into Week 3 against the Eagles
The Chicago Bears will likely be without quarterback Caleb Williams in Week 3 and it might not be the only positional change the team makes going into Monday night’s game.
The Chicago Bears are likely going to have one major position change in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles with Tyson Bagent playing quarterback in place of an injured Caleb Williams (although Williams hasn’t been ruled out yet for Monday’s game).
Even still, it’s very likely that the Bears rest Williams considering he doesn’t plan to practice this week while nursing the hamstring injury he suffered on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
And quarterback isn’t the only positional change the Bears might have going into Monday Night Football against the Eagles to watch out for this week.
Tyrique Stevenson’s injury could force some changes in the secondary for the Bears
Along with Williams, starting outside cornerback Tyrique Stevenson also suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss. There’s been no update on the severity of his injury and how long he could be sidelined, so it’ll be worth watching his practice availability this week.
If Stevenson is forced to miss Monday’s game, the Bears will have to do some shuffling in the secondary. The easy answer would be to move rookie Malik Muhammad II outside, move Cam Lewis down to the nickel, and then start Xavier Woods back at safety. Woods was expected to be the starting safety anyways to open the season before suffering a groin injury. He played 14 snaps on Sunday and could be ready to start in Week 3.
Another option to watch is Clark Phillips III, the cornerback acquired from the Atlanta Falcons in the Gervon Dexter Sr. trade. The Bears had good things to say about his versatility but haven’t played him yet as he continues to learn the scheme. Perhaps Monday could be his chance to make his Bears debut if Stevenson doesn’t play.
No change seems imminent at center despite Garrett Bradbury’s struggles
One change Bears fans were ready to make on Sunday was pulling veteran center Garrett Bradbury from the starting lineup and replacing him with second-round rookie Logan Jones. Doing that on short notice against the top defensive coordinator in the NFL would have been a recipe for disaster, and I’m glad Ben Johnson didn’t go down that route.
After the game, Ben Johnson said Bradbury is still doing a great job and that it was a challenging day for everybody. That leads me to believe no change is imminent at the center position. However, Bradbury needs to clean up the mistakes after being called for four penalties in Week 2 alone (Drew Dalman had four penalties all season in 2025 for context, via Brendan Sugrue).
Bradbury also has a history struggling against more physical defensive tackles, something that’s shown up in both games so far this season. On Monday, he’ll be tasked with going up against Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter. Certainly a matchup to watch.
Will Ozzy Trapilo be ready to go in Week 3?
The last position to watch is left tackle. In both games this season, the Bears moved Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet in and out of the lineup with Jones starting both games. When Jones was pulled on Sunday, it didn’t sound injury related, but he ended up coming back onto the field. Both Jones and Benedet, for their credit, played pretty well.
That wishy-washy decision-making every week isn’t good for anyone on offense, though. The good news is that Ozzy Trapilo was a full participant last Friday for the first time since his patellar tendon injury, although it was a short session and not in full pads.
It was still another step forward for him and if he continues to be a full participant throughout this week, he could be ready to go by Monday. I wouldn’t fully count on that, but we are getting closer and closer to Trapilo getting back on the field.
