Tyson Bagent’s injury update could change Ben Johnson’s plans at QB going into the Bears’ preseason game against the Bengals
Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent is dealing with a week-to-week injury, making Thursday’s joint practice even more important for Caleb Williams to determine his preseason availability.
The Chicago Bears received a significant quarterback update ahead of Thursday’s joint practice against the Cincinnati Bengals. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered during last Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns and did not make the trip to Cincinnati.
Head coach Ben Johnson confirmed to reporters that Bagent is week-to-week, a timeline that could effectively end his preseason action. For a player who didn’t see much regular season action last year, the preseason represents the primary opportunity for him to put good film on tape for his own team and other teams around the league.
As for who could take those reps in Bagent’s place looking ahead to Saturday’s game, a lot of it depends on Thursday’s joint practice that’s about to get started.
Thursday’s joint practice will play a major role in whether or not Caleb Williams will play Saturday
Bagent’s injury sets up a potentially big day on Thursday for quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears did not play their starters in last Saturday’s preseason opener against Cleveland, a decision that was a little surprising considering they did not have a joint practice that week.
The way Johnson operated last year, he was more willing to sit the starters in preseason games when the team had a solid joint practice that week because he feels the starters get those valuable reps in that setting. With Thursday’s joint practice against the Bengals kicking off, all eyes will be on what Williams looks like against Cincinnati’s defense to determine if he should play on Saturday and Johnson will be watching on specific thing.
“It’s trending upward,” Johnson said of Williams’ accuracy. “That’s really what we want to see is it continue to get better. I just told him this morning, I thought the last two days – even if it was an abbreviated practice yesterday – they were really good. I think he’s shown significant strides [in the red zone]. He’s taking a lot of pride in where he’s putting the ball and yet he still hasn’t lost that stinger of being aggressive and pushing the limits a little bit.”
It’s worth noting that Johnson has expressed a lot of confidence in Williams and the mutual trust developing between the two. Johnson feels good about what Williams can do in this offense and the command he’s showing in Year 2. So even if Chicago decides not to play Williams on Saturday with Bagent sidelined, it doesn’t sound like Johnson views that as a concern.
“Do I need to see Caleb Williams in the preseason? No I don’t. I see him every single day in practice and I know what we’re going to get come the season,” Johnson said last week. “And yet, there is a workload and number of reps that we want to hit as a team. We’ll make sure we even that out whether it’s game reps or not.”
Case Keenum could be in line for a sizable snap count against the Bengals if Williams and Bagent don’t play
If Williams sits, veteran Case Keenum would be in line to start Saturday’s preseason game in Cincinnati. The 38-year-old looked sharp in the second half of the preseason opener, completing nearly every pass he threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
“I enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun,” Keenum said after last Saturday’s game. “I don’t care where you are, throwing touchdowns and moving the ball down the field is fun.”
If Keenum gets the opportunity to start against a higher level of competition, particularly if the Bengals play their defensive starters, you know he’ll relish the moment. And an extended look would be valuable for both Keenum and the coaching staff.
The Bears also have undrafted free agent Miller Moss on the roster, and Saturday could provide an opportunity for more action from the rookie after he didn’t see much playing time in the opener. It’s worth noting that Moss is the only quarterback on Chicago’s roster whom Johnson actually had a hand in bringing to the team. That connection alone makes any additional reps for Moss worth watching.
Going into Saturday with two available quarterbacks wouldn’t be a major issue for Chicago. Between Keenum’s experience and Moss’s development, the Bears have enough depth to manage Bagent’s absence even if Johnson decides to sit Williams again.
