The Chicago Bears are still unsure who will start at quarterback for them against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 3, but head coach Ben Johnson does know one thing: they have no plans to add another quarterback.
During Wednesday’s weekly news conference, Johnson spoke at length about the Bears’ uncertain quarterback situation for Week 3 with starter Caleb Williams on the mend with a hamstring injury and backup Tyson Bagent in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
The door is not closed for either Williams or Bagent to return to the lineup in time for Week 3’s prime-time bout with the Eagles, but the alternative would see the Bears start 38-year-old veteran Case Keenum instead in the key conference matchup.
“We’re at a point right where we’re not sure who the starter is going to be on Monday night,” Johnson said Wednesday. “We’ll let this thing play out and we’ll go for there. But here’s what we know: we know Case is the one practicing today. We’ll figure it out as we go. Our guys will rally around [whichever quarterback]. These guys are all capable, and they know that. They’ve seen it in action here over the last year and a half, and so we feel really good about that situation.”
Asked about whether the injuries could prompt the Bears to sign another quarterback to their roster, though, Johnson answered with a confident “no” on that possibility.
Ben Johnson Praises Bears GM for Quarterback Depth
Johnson had a great deal to say about the Bears’ fluid quarterback situation on Wednesday, from complimenting Williams’ drive to get back on the field to hyping Keenum — whom he described as “another coach” in the room — for a possible start.
He also lauded Bears general manager Ryan Poles for his work in constructing the team’s quarterback room and putting him in a situation in which he said he feels comfortable starting any of his three options at the position on Monday night.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve got three guys that can play ball in this league, that have won games in this league,” Johnson said. “Ryan has constructed the room in a way that we feel really good about whoever ends up playing for us. That showed in the preseason. It shows up in practice every single day.”
Poles deserves the bulk of the credit for how the Bears’ quarterback room looks in 2026.
He made the trade that landed the Bears 2024’s No. 1 overall pick, which they used to select Williams. He found Bagent as a low-profile UDFA coming out of a Division II school. And while Johnson undoubtedly had a hand in bringing Keenum to Chicago in 2025, Poles is the one who locked him down in the offseason on a two-year extension.
“I’ve got a lot of faith and trust in the fact that we’ve got three guys that have won games in this league and played big on a big stage, which Monday Night Football will be,” Johnson said.
Johnson: Feels ‘Foreign’ Not Having Caleb Williams at QB
Johnson said he is comfortable if the Bears wind up having to start Keenum at quarterback against the Eagles on Monday night, but he also didn’t deny the strangeness of having someone other than Williams under center at QB1 in meetings and practice.
“It’s foreign, it is,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get a cadence and a rhythm, not just so that he’s healthy and getting back and helping this team win games, but how he can impact those around him in the meantime. And [he’s] still being a great supporter in the quarterback room, walkthrough right now, making sure he’s contributing ideas to what we want to get done.”
The challenge, Johnson said, is taming the competitor in Williams for his own good.
Williams avoided a major injury and is considered week-to-week with a right hamstring strain, but it can take players between two and four weeks to recover. The Bears will want to show even more caution with Williams, given his mobile tendencies.
“I know he’s an antsy individual,” Johnson said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there on the grass going full speed, so it is a little bit more challenging to hold a guy back like that. But if you could build a player, that’s what you would want him to be like.”
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