The Chicago Bears have said they have no plans to add another quarterback to the roster before Week 3’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, despite having their top quarterbacks — Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent — on the injury report.
Could that mean turning to Roschon Johnson, their fourth-year running back, as their emergency third-string quarterback against the Eagles on Monday Night Football?
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin posed that question to Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor on September 25, citing Johnson’s experience as a high school quarterback
Taylor left the door open on that possibility, too.
“That’s a possibility,” Taylor said Friday. “We have a couple different guys that would be a possibility in that role if that comes down to it. And again, it’s determining how the numbers shake out on Monday night. But that’s part of the one of the things you see us do in the spring when we have all those skill guys throw, we put stock into that.
“I mean, those guys throw, we kind of have an idea who has a past of throwing, who’s played baseball, who played high school quarterback, all that stuff. And then we watch them throw, and then we kind monitor it throughout the year. But we’ll reference that tape and stuff, too, if it comes into times of needing somebody else to throw a pass, and we’ll see how that goes”
Roschon Johnson Set Records as Texas High School QB
The Bears might not even want to think about what they would need to do if both Case Keenum and Miller Moss — their two healthy quarterbacks — went down against the Eagles on Monday night, but there are worse fallback plans than Johnson.
While high school football is hardly the NFL, Johnson produced elite numbers as a dual-threat quarterback at Port Neches-Groves High School in Port Neches, Texas.
He finished as the program’s all-time leading passer (7,710 yards) and second all-time leading rusher (4,900) and scored 85 total touchdowns, impressive enough to earn him an offer to stay in-state with the Texas Longhorns.
Johnson switched to running back shortly after he arrived at Texas and hasn’t played quarterback since. But if the Bears evaluate their ex-quarterbacks and former other-sport athletes in the way that Taylor described, then they should know his potential.
Bears News: Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent Both Listed as ‘DNP’ for September 25’s Practice
The Bears have yet to definitively rule out either Williams or Bagent with their injuries, but things seem to be trending that way after practice on Friday, September 25.
Neither Williams nor Bagent participated in Friday’s first practice of the week for the Bears, who listed both quarterbacks as “DNP” for a second straight day — though their participation was estimated for Thursday, as they did not practice that day.
The Bears caught a break with Williams’ hamstring injury after he left the field on a cart in Week 2’s loss to Minnesota, but he is still expected to miss at least Monday night’s game with the strain. Even if Williams feels ready, patience favors the Bears.
Meanwhile, Bagent landed in the NFL’s concussion protocol after reporting symptoms earlier in the week. If there was a slim chance that he could clear the protocol before Monday’s kickoff, it likely went out the window when he sat out Friday’s practice.
All that points toward Keenum — a 38-year-old veteran — starting in Week 3.
Bears Reveal Bold Emergency QB Possibility for Eagles Game