Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent will miss extended time with a hamstring injury and did not travel to Cincinnati for Saturday’s preseason game against the Bengals, coach Ben Johnson revealed Thursday, calling the backup quarterback “week-to-week.”
The setback leaves Chicago thin behind starter Caleb Williams just as joint practices with the Cincinnati Bengals intensify the competition for backup reps.
Bagent suffered the setback during the Bears’ 34-10 preseason win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. He finished his scheduled snaps and spoke with reporters afterward, according to Chicago Sun-Times reporter Patrick Finley. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 169 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and added seven rushing yards on his only carry, directing two scoring drives before the hamstring tightened up enough to keep him out of Tuesday’s practice.
Bears QB Tyson Bagent’s Hamstring Injury and Recovery
Bagent sat out again Wednesday and skipped the trip to Cincinnati for Thursday’s joint practice against the Bengals, a clear sign he won’t play Saturday night at Paycor Stadium. Bagent hadn’t practiced since Sunday, standard rest for players who saw game action, but the week-to-week tag pushes his absence past a minor tweak, Finley reported.
Bagent’s injury adds to a rough training camp for the Bears. Chicago has now lost six prominent players to injuries lasting a week or longer during its 15 practices, a toll Johnson has attributed partly to the physical tempo he demands.
“There are things that you can’t control sometimes,” Johnson said of the pattern, according to the Sun-Times report.
Running back Kyle Monangai, safety Coby Bryant and receiver Luther Burden are among other Bears working back from camp injuries. Bagent’s injury came in a game, not a practice rep, which offers little comfort to a quarterback room now down to two healthy arms behind Williams.
Bears Must Turn to Case Keenum, Miller Moss
Bagent’s absence hands more snaps to veteran Case Keenum, who posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Browns, and rookie Miller Moss, a former Williams teammate at USC. Johnson hasn’t yet decided whether his starters will see extended action Saturday, though playing Williams and the first unit heavily Thursday suggests Keenum and Moss will carry the Cincinnati workload.
Chicago signed Bagent to a two-year, $10 million extension in August 2025, locking him in as Williams’ backup through 2027, an improbable ascent for an undrafted free agent signing out of Division II Shepherd University who set the NCAA’s career record for touchdown passes and went 2-2 as a rookie starter in 2023 after Justin Fields got hurt.
“He’s different than anybody I’ve ever coached,” Bagent’s former Shepherd offensive coordinator, Tyler Haines, said, as quoted by CBS Sports. Haines pointed to Bagent’s West Virginia upbringing and his father’s influence as the roots of a competitive streak that carried him from Martinsburg High School, where he led back-to-back state championships, to an NFL backup job.
Bagent went 26-4 across his final two college seasons, breaking Division II records for completions and passing yards while setting the NCAA’s career mark for touchdown throws. None of that guaranteed an NFL opportunity out of a program that had never produced a drafted quarterback. But the Bears took a shot and three years later, Bagent appears to have a secure role behind Williams.
Bears Announce Tyson Bagent Injury Update Before Bengals Game