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The Chicago Bears have a load of talent at the quarterback position, but the one thing they don’t have is certainty.
Caleb Williams is about as close as it gets to a sure thing in the NFL, but the No. 1 overall pick has yet to take a snap in a regular season game and there will be a learning curve littered with mistakes along the way. And in professional football, every player on every roster is one bit of bad luck away from a trip to the injured reserve list (IR).
Those realities make the position of backup QB crucially important for teams with young and unproven quarterbacks, teams with injury-prone quarterbacks and teams with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations guarding against the worst-case scenario. The Bears and Williams definitely fall into the first category, may or may not be able to avoid the second and certainly hope to considering themselves members of the third come mid-season after all the moves the front office has made to improve.
That argues for an upgrade from a backup QB trio that currently includes Tyson Bagent, Brett Rypien and Austin Reed.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report on Sunday, August 4, compiled a list of five QBs “teams must pursue” via the trade market. One player he mentioned was Tyler Huntley, a former starter and Pro Bowler for the Baltimore Ravens, who is currently a member of the Cleveland Browns.
“Given that [Dorian Thompson-Robinson] started three games in his rookie year, Cleveland would probably prefer to keep him around as a developmental hope behind [Deshaun] Watson and [Jameis] Winston,” Kenyon wrote. “Huntley, meanwhile, was perfectly adequate as Lamar Jackson’s backup with the Baltimore Ravens recently.”
Tyler Huntley More Accomplished, Proven Than Any QB on Bears’ Roster
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GettyFormer Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley evades a sack by Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt during an NFL game.
Huntley will not pose a legitimate threat to take Williams’ starting job long-term regardless of scenario, though it is inarguable that he is more experienced and accomplished than all four QBs currently on Chicago’s roster — Williams included.
Huntley was a more-than-serviceable backup to Jackson, a two-time MVP, over four years in Baltimore. During that time, Huntley appeared in 20 games, made nine starts and posted a win/loss record of 3-6.
Williams has a ceiling as an elite passer, but he is also mobile and a serious threat to pick up first downs and score touchdowns as a ball-carrier. Huntley is not as physically gifted as Williams, but he cut a crude facsimile of the offensively versatile Jackson in Baltimore and could presumably do the same behind Williams in Chicago.
Huntley earned Pro Bowl honors following the 2022 campaign as Jackson’s stand-in, voted as a replacement Pro Bowler despite starting just four games and playing in only six that season. For his career, Huntley has completed 64.6% of his passes and tallied 1,957 passing yards, 8 TDs and 7 INTs, per Pro Football Reference. He has also rushed the football 115 times for 509 yards and 3 scores.
Brett Rypien Showed Out in Bears’ First Preseason Game of 2024
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GettyChicago Bears quarterback Brett Rypien.
QBs already on a preseason roster will often show enough flashes to argue against pursuing a trade for someone like Huntley, who would probably cost Chicago a Day-3 draft asset. Rypien is the signal-caller who seized that opportunity during the team’s August opener against the Houston Texans on Thursday, August 1.
Rypien starred in the league’s first preseason contest of 2024 at the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. He connected on 11-of-15 passes for 166 yards and 3 TDs in a 21-17 Bears victory that aired on national television.
And while all that counts for something, one must take care not to get overly excited about Rypien as a legitimate regular season alternative to Williams playing against first-string defenses. Rypien has started just four games in four years across stints with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams, posting a 2-2 record with 4 TDs, 9 INTs and a 58.3% completion percentage.
Bagent, an undrafted free agent who captured the Bears’ second-string QB job last season behind Justin Fields, is also 2-2 as a starter following a rookie campaign in which he tallied 3 TDs, 6 INTs and a QBR of 51.8.
Huntley is not expensive, playing on a one-year deal worth $1.3 million total ($470,000 guaranteed) in a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland. He would fit reasonably well behind Williams while also offering insurance against injury and makes sense as a target if the Bears don’t pursue an even more established veteran like Ryan Tannehill over the next month.
