The Chicago Bears are making a curious decision about backup quarterback Tyson Bagent’s availability Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game will be the Bears’ final tune-up before the start of the regular season.
The Chicago Bears are resting Caleb Williams on Thursday night
On Tuesday, head coach Matt Eberflus announced that the Bears would sit Caleb Williams and the “majority” of the team’s starters, while the Chiefs plan to sit Patrick Mahomes and the rest of their starters. It remains to be seen if Carson Wentz, the QB2 for the Chiefs, will play in the game.
Some NFL teams are planning to sit their backup quarterbacks. The Las Vegas Raiders announced Gardner Minshew would be their starting quarterback in Week 1. On Wednesday, raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said that the team plans to rest backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell against the San Francisco 49ers this week.
The Bears do not plan to sit Bagent.
Tyson Bagent will play at least one quarter
Per Dan Wiederer with the Chicago Tribune, the Bears plan to play Bagent for at least one quarter against the Chiefs:
Bagent won’t get that chance Thursday but will start against the Chiefs and play deep into the first quarter at a minimum. That will be the next step in a quarterback journey Bagent believes can take him places no one else is even imagining right now.
The Bears’ decision is an interesting one in a week when some in the media have speculated that Bagent could be on the trade market. Bagent hinted on this week’s episode of “Hard Knocks” that he has NFL dreams beyond being a Bears backup quarterback.
Per the Chicago Tribune:
“I’ve got ridiculous, unbelievable aspirations that go far deeper than what I’ve been able to do so far,” Bagent said. “I’ll just sum it up like that.”
Why are the Bears playing Bagent on Thursday night?
The Raiders are using their final game to decide whether backup quarterbacks Nathan Peterman or Carter Bradley should be on the 53-man roster or the practice squad.
The Bears could have used Thursday night’s game to feature only quarterbacks Brett Rypien and Austin Reed to evaluate which player should become the QB3 for the season. Instead, the Bears are opting to use Bagent in a meaningless game against the Chiefs.
The Bears are allowing Bagent to put good tape up for other league front offices to see.
Are the Bears preparing Bagent better to be Williams’ backup, or are they trying to drive his price up in the trade market before the season?
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