The Chicago Bears are in a bad way at the quarterback position and probably need to add another signal-caller to the roster following a head-turning injury report on Tyson Bagent just two days after Caleb Williams went down with a hamstring injury.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network broke the Bagent news on Tuesday, September 22.
“#Bears QB Tyson Bagent is dealing with a concussion and is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, sources say,” Rapoport wrote. “With Caleb Williams likely out with a hamstring injury, Case Keenum could be the starter vs the #Eagles.”
If Keenum, now 38 years old, gets the start, his backup is almost certain to be undrafted rookie Miller Moss out of Louisville.
Moss was with Chicago during the offseason before the team cut him as part of its push to bring the roster down to 53 players. However, the Bears re-signed Moss and added him to the active roster prior to Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers due to a different Bagent injury.
Moss, 24, has some experience with head coach Ben Johnson’s complex offense, which makes him more valuable in an important way than other players the team might sign out of free agency.
That said, every NFL team tends to enter each regular season game with at least three quarterbacks — two on the active roster and a third emergency QB it can call on in dire straits.
The best option available to Chicago if it decides to ink someone off the street is former Super Bowl starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jimmy Garoppolo Has Been Successful QB Over 12-Year NFL Career
Garoppolo has played in 85 games over the course of his career, which includes 64 starts (43-21).
The 34-year-old QB has tallied 15,828 passing yards, 96 TDs and 52 INTs. He led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019-20 season on the strength of a 13-3 record and a career-high 3,978 passing yards along with 27 TDs and 13 INTs.
Garoppolo started his career with the New England Patriots as the backup QB behind Tom Brady. He then played six seasons in the Bay Area before one campaign with Las Vegas Raiders and a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams that ran through 2025.
Bears QB Case Keenum Hasn’t Seen Action in Regular Season Since 2023
Keenum has not played in a game since 2023 when he was with the Houston Texans, while Moss has never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL.
Garoppolo almost certainly can’t enter the fray in Chicago and start Week 3 in place of Williams and Bagent. Even if he could, Keenum and Moss are better immediate options against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 on Monday Night Football.
But the prudent course of action for the Bears is to add another QB to the practice squad at a low cost and allow him to begin familiarizing himself with the playbook.
Concussions are mercurial injuries and can sideline players for multiple weeks. Meanwhile, there is no absolute clarity on when Williams might return, though an absence of at least two or three games seems likely after Johnson said he expects the starter to “miss some time.”
Given the Bears’ third and fourth options under center, a proven veteran with some history of success who has played in the league as recently as last year makes sense as a safety-net signing this week.
Bears Fit for Super Bowl-Starting QB After Tyson Bagent Injury