Ben Johnson makes an early QB decision for Week 5 against the Packers that continues to show his confidence in Tyson Bagent
The Chicago Bears plan to roll with Tyson Bagent for the second consecutive week at quarterback while Caleb Williams continues rehabbing from his hamstring injury.
The Chicago Bears have had a lot of movement at the quarterback position over the last two weeks ever since starting quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a Grade 2 hamstring in Week 2’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Last Monday, the Bears turned to veteran Case Keenum, who led a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles to close out Week 3. On Sunday, the Bears handed the keys over to Tyson Bagent, who led another two-possession win over the New York Jets.
Head coach Ben Johnson said that he believes in all three quarterbacks and their ability to win games this year. They certainly proved that considering each of the team’s three wins came with a different quarterback leading the offense.
As the team prepares for next Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, it’s sounding like the Bears will have some form of consistency in terms of who will be running the offense.
Ben Johnson reveals Tyson Bagent is expected to start again in Week 5 against the Packers
Speaking with Jeff Joniak on ESPN1000 on Monday, Johnson revealed that the Bears are planning to roll out Bagent as the starter again on Sunday in Green Bay against the Packers.
“Tyson will be the guy,” Johnson confirmed. “And we’ll go forward from there. We’re in good shape.”
After watching the tape from Sunday’s game, which was Bagent’s first regular season start since 2023, Johnson called it a mixed bag performance. There were certainly some good plays Bagent made in the win over the Jets, but also some plays he’d like to have back including the interception he threw to veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“The best part was how he controlled the operation,” Johnson added. “I thought we had good tempo in and out of the huddle. I thought our guys played with a lot of confidence because of how he conducted himself. And he found completions… But, we put the ball in jeopardy too much and fortunately we did have a couple negated due to penalties… And then there’s a couple times where we had some other opportunities down the field that we’re going to have to challenge him to go ahead and pull the trigger on.”
Simply put, Johnson is eager to see more out of what Bagent can do with another starting opportunity and what he managed to show in one game was enough to inspire enough confidence to give him that chance next week.
“I’m extremely appreciative of every rep, every game ever given to me. Nothing changes on my end,” Bagent said. “It’s very cool to play in the greatest rivalry in sports, so it’s easy to get excited and juiced up. Going into a loud away environment, we have to be crispy with communication in and out of the huddle, put our best foot forward, and have a good week of preparation.”
Bears’ QB room is helping make sure Caleb Williams has plenty of time to get fully healthy
While Bagent has already gotten the early nod for Week 5, that doesn’t mean there’s any competition brewing in Chicago. Johnson said after Sunday’s game that Bagent earned the right to be the team’s QB2. That means, when healthy, Williams is still the starter for this team.
Many believed Williams would push and fight to be back for this game against the Packers, but there’s no reason to rush him back from this kind of injury. With how strong the Bears’ quarterback room is, Williams has the luxury to take his time and get fully healthy before returning to action. And that’s the path the Bears seem to be taking.
For a team with playoff and Super Bowl hopes, they’ll need Williams to be ready for the long-run and can’t risk any further injury by rushing him out too soon this early in the season, especially if they continue winning games without him.
So, all signs point toward Bagent running the operation again at Lambeau Field on Sunday and we’ll see how much practice Williams is able to get in, if any, later this week.
