Caleb Williams is the unquestioned franchise quarterback of the Chicago Bears. However, who ends up being his backup is still up in the air.
Tyson Bagent entered the race as the incumbent, now in his third year with the Bears. But Chicago still signed veteran Case Keenum to a one-year contract during the offseason. Both players come with their own separate list of pros and cons, giving head coach Ben Johnson plenty to think about when deciding who will be QB2.
On Wednesday though, it was all Keenum as he took every single second-team rep, via Clay Harbor of the Chicago Sports Network. After practice, Johnson acknowledged what makes the veteran special, via the team’s press conference.
“Case has been phenomenal,” Johnson said. “I haven’t been with him in the past but he came highly recommended from a number of people that I trust. He’s got skins on the wall. He has been to playoff games, won playoff games. He has done it at a high level, he’s been the No. 2 quarterback at a number of different places. His experience level is off the charts, he has seen a little bit of everything this league has to offer.”
“He finds a good way to ask questions that I might not or Declan [Doyle] or JT [Barrett] we might not have provided the answer to prior,” he concluded. “He does a good job filling those gaps. Of course we’re constrained so much by the time limits so much in Spring time that he’s able to help the process when we’re not in there.”
Ben Johnson says Case Keenum comes highly recommended from several connections. He does a good job asking player oriented question. Says it’s very much a competition for 2nd string QB.
Keemun took ALL the 2nd team snaps over Bagent today. #DaBears #Bears
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) May 28, 2025
Chicago Bears quarterback battle
While Keenum got all the backup reps on Wednesday, that doesn’t necessarily mean he is ahead of Bagent. Johnson plans to continue the quarterback battle well into training camp.
“We’re going to continue to mix up the reps over the course of the preseason and then at some point in training camp we’ll make a decision with who has earned that No. 2 job and we’ll go with it,” Johnson said. “But for right now we have a battle just like we’ve been saying since the start of the spring time. There’s no depth chart, we want to create as much competition and growth as we can.”
The preseason will be extremely telling for both Bagent and Keenum. Once Johnson sees each quarterback live against a defense trying to wreak havoc, he’ll have a better understanding of who is suited for the role.
It wouldn’t be shocked to see Bagent have a day at practice where he takes all the QB2 reps. Maybe that comes as early as Thursday as Johnson is trying to breed competition. But at least during Wednesday’s practice, Keenum was the belle of the backup ball.
What Case Keenum offers franchise
Keenum was completely out of the NFL in 2024. However, he still has 80 games of NFL experience under his belt, including 66 starts. The quarterback has gone 30-36 as a starter while throwing for 15,175 yards, 79 touchdowns and 51 interceptions. Keenum has even played in a pair of playoff games, picking up a win.
Bagent managed to win a pair of games as a rookie, which was shocking as he was an undrafted free agent out of D2 Shepherd. However, he threw for just 859 yards over four games total, converting three touchdowns to six interceptions. Bagent played in four games in 2024, but he only attempted two passes. The Bears like what they see in Bagent, but he doesn’t come equipped with massive NFL experience.
Keenum has been in this role before. When with the Houston Texans, he helped CJ Stroud get acclimated to the NFL. Now, he’s doing the same for Williams, acting as a second head coach throughout the offseason program.
If that translates to Keenum being QB2 is yet to be seen. However, the veteran was brought in by Johnson simply to help Williams improve. If Keenum shows he has plenty of gas left in the tank, his responsibilities in Chicago will only increase.
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