A former Chicago Bears backup quarterback is getting a fresh opportunity with an AFC playoff contender amid the first week of the 2026 NFL preseason.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Baltimore Ravens signed former Bears backup quarterback Austin Reed to their 90-man roster on August 12 after placing another of their quarterbacks, Skylar Thompson, on season-ending injured reserve.
Reed spent his 2024 rookie season on the Bears’ practice squad as their third-string quarterback behind starter Caleb Williams and top backup Tyson Bagent, earning his spot with the reserves after finishing the preseason with a 117.4 quarterback rating.
While the Bears signed Reed to a reserve/future contract after the 2024 season, they raised the level of difficulty for him to stick around in 2025 when they signed veteran Case Keenum to the room to add a mentor behind Williams and Bagent. Reed went 11-of-17 passing in the 2025 preseason, but he did not earn back his practice-squad role.
Reed will now have a chance to compete for one of the backup roles behind two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and could play for the Ravens as soon as their first preseason game on Saturday, August 15, depending on how the coaching staff divvies up the reps.
Austin Reed is Coming Off Impressive 2026 UFL Campaign
Reed didn’t find another NFL fit in 2025 after the Bears declined to bring him back as a member of their practice squad, but he did become a UFL record-setter this past spring.
Reed signed a contract with the Dallas Renegades in early January and, months later, won the starting quarterback job over Luis Perez heading into the 2026 UFL season. He went on to start in all 10 games for the Renegades and set a new UFL record for the most passing touchdowns (21) in a single season, despite going just 4-6 as a starter.
Reed also finished with the most passing attempts (309) and interceptions (nine) in the league and ranked second in total passing yards (1,923) behind Jake Plummer in 2026.
While Reed’s UFL records were his first as a professional football player, he isn’t new to leading his league in passing statistics. He also led all NCAA Division-I quarterbacks in passing yards (4,744) during his 2022 season at Western Kentucky, adding career-high marks in completion percentage (64.6%) and passing touchdowns (40) in his 14 starts.
Perhaps, in his fresh start with the Ravens, Reed can finally make his mark in the NFL.
Tyson Bagent is Bears’ Unquestioned Backup Quarterback
The Bears’ no-risk experiment with Reed in 2024 and 2025 didn’t deliver them a new quarterback to develop behind their starter, but the only reason anyone believed that it might is that their current No. 2 quarterback, Bagent, had emerged from a similar path.
Bagent entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Division-II Shepherd University in 2023, signing with the Bears as their fourth quarterback behind P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman and facing long odds to win a job behind then-starter Justin Fields.
Quickly, though, Bagent proved to the Bears’ coaches and front office that he had talent beyond that of a traditional undrafted rookie quarterback. He unseated Walker as the projected No. 2 quarterback throughout the 2023 preseason and spent most of his first season as the top backup behind Fields, even starting four games as an injury reliever.
Three years later, Bagent is still the unquestioned backup in Chicago, but his prestige around the NFL appears to have grown under the tutelage of head coach Ben Johnson. Bears general manager Ryan Poles confirmed they received a “few calls” about Bagent’s availability around the time of the 2026 NFL Combine, but no offers were reported.
The Bears have shown reluctance to trade Bagent — Johnson bluntly joked his answer would be “no” if asked about him — but he is heading into the first season of the two-year, $10 million deal that he signed last August and could appeal to the right team, given his untapped potential and the affordable structure of his current contract.
Odds are good Bagent remains the QB2 in Chicago in 2026, but it isn’t a stretch to think that he could finally get a meaningful opportunity to win a starting job come next year.
Bears’ Former Backup Quarterback Signs With AFC Contender