After the Chicago Bears set a franchise record for an opening week by scoring 59 points in a win over the Carolina Panthers, Week 2 saw the Bears narrowly avoid a shutout as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 9-3.
The Vikings game cost the Bears more than a strike in the loss column. Starting quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, left that game with a hamstring injury and is now listed as week-to-week, appearing unlikely to play when the Bears meet the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football Sept. 28.
On Tuesday, the Bears got even more bad news on their quarterback situation.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent entered the NFL’s concussion protocol Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, leaving the Chicago Bears with a second injured quarterback before their Monday night Eagles date.
| CHICAGO BEARS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Time / Result | TV / W-L |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 13 | @ Carolina Panthers | Away | W 59-37 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | Minnesota Vikings | Home | L 9-3 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Mon, Sep 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | Home | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN / ABC |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | New York Jets | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 11 | @ Green Bay Packers | Away | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | @ Atlanta Falcons | Away | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 7 | Thu, Oct 22 | New England Patriots | Home | 5:15 PM | Prime Video |
| 8 | Mon, Nov 2 | @ Seattle Seahawks | Away | 5:15 PM | ESPN |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Home | 5:20 PM | NBC |
| WK 10 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | New Orleans Saints | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | @ Detroit Lions | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 6 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | @ Miami Dolphins | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 15 | Sat, Dec 19 | @ Buffalo Bills | Away | 5:20 PM | CBS |
| 16 | Fri, Dec 25 | Green Bay Packers | Home | 10:00 AM | Netflix |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | Detroit Lions | Home | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Minnesota Vikings | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. Bye in Week 10. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. | |||||
Chicago Bears’ Tyson Bagent Concussion Explained
Bagent stepped in for Williams with 7:15 left in Sunday’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota and finished 5-of-9 passing for 54 yards in wind and rain against a stout Vikings defense.
Exactly which play triggered the concussion diagnosis remains unclear. CHGO Bears reporter Adam Jahns said the concussion traced to a third-down hit from Vikings pass rusher Andrew Van Ginkel before a blocked field goal. Other accounts point to the sack Bagent took on the game’s final snap. The Bears had not said anything about Bagent’s injury publicly as of early Tuesday afternoon.
There is no set calendar for clearing the protocol. A player must pass a five-step return process and get a green light from an independent neurologist, a course that clears some quarterbacks in days and sidelines others for weeks.
Williams’ Hamstring Leaves Bears’ Monday Night Muddled
Williams went down scrambling around left end on a first-and-goal play from the 6 late in the fourth quarter, a non-contact injury on wet Soldier Field turf that snapped his streak of eight straight games with multiple touchdown passes. He was carted off with a towel over his head, then pumped his fist to the crowd.
“We’ll see where he’s at as the week progresses and how long that means,” coach Ben Johnson said, as quoted by ChicagoBears.com. “But it was somewhat encouraging, the report that we got, so I’ll leave it there.”
Johnson does not expect Williams to practice this week and has labeled him week-to-week, though he stopped short of ruling him out for Monday. The extra day built into a Monday game buys a sliver more time, and a report from The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero indicated the strain avoided serious damage.
Case Keenum’s Long Road Back to a Chicago Bears Start
If both Williams and Bagent sit, the job falls to Case Keenum, a 38-year-old who set NCAA career records for passing yards, completions and touchdown passes at Houston and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy twice, in 2009 and 2011, according to the Bears’ biography.
Keenum went undrafted in 2012 and has since worn the jerseys of the Texans, Rams, Vikings, Broncos, Washington Commanders, Browns and Bills before landing in Chicago on a two-year deal signed in March. His career totals sit at 15,175 yards, 79 touchdowns and an 84.6 rating, with his best stretch coming in 2017, when he led Minnesota to the NFC North title and the Minneapolis Miracle before falling in the NFC Championship Game.
He has not played a regular-season snap since 2023, and his job in Chicago has mostly been mentoring Williams and Bagent from the sideline.
Rapoport’s reporting frames Keenum as the likely Monday night starter. Undrafted rookie Miller Moss rounds out the depth chart on the practice squad. Chicago resumes practice Wednesday, when the picture at quarterback should start to clear.
Bears Get Bad Tyson Bagent News After Caleb Williams Injury