Tyson Bagent doesn’t seem to miss the “gray areas” of the Chicago Bears offense that persisted under former head coach Matt Eberflus in his first two seasons.
Bagent delivered a strong preseason performance for the Bears in Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills, completing 13-of-22 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown and showing off his command of Ben Johnson’s new offense in the national TV spotlight.
Afterward, Bagent lauded Johnson and his offensive coaches for having a reason behind every detail in the new offensive scheme. He also took a subtle shot at Eberflus and his previous offensive coaches in Chicago while explaining the difference from past years.
“As far as [the new scheme] developing, I think it’s been amazing,” Bagent said Sunday in the postgame of the Bears‘ 38-0 win. “I think the coaching staff has done a great job of not allowing there to be any gray area on any play. Everything is black and white. If something doesn’t work, it’s because somebody made a mistake.
“I think in previous years, there’s been kind of a gray area where, ‘Oh, you could have gone here, but we went here, but…’ Just that limbo that a lot of staffs have, and that doesn’t seem to be any issue with this staff. So, I think everything has been great, and you can see it is paying off with execution.”
Tyson Bagent Has Likely Solidified as Bears’ No. 2 QB
Bagent entered the second week of the preseason engaged in an active competition with veteran quarterback Case Keenum for the top backup job behind starter Caleb Williams for the 2025 season. After Sunday’s big game, though, Bagent’s likely sealed the deal.
Bagent, a 2023 undrafted rookie signing, has held the No. 2 quarterback role in each of the past two seasons for the Bears, but he seemed to slip a little bit in his battle with the 37-year-old Keenum after a somewhat shaky performance in the preseason opener.
Unfortunately for Keenum, he sustained a leg injury that forced him to leave Thursday’s practice early last week and sit out during joint team drills with the Bills on Friday. He also did not take any snaps in the Bears’ preseason win over the Bills on Sunday night, which led to extra reps for both Bagent and second-year quarterback Austin Reed.
Even if Keenum returns to practice this week, Bagent has likely shown enough progress at this point to keep his job for the 2025 season. He is the younger, more athletic choice for the role with a higher developmental ceiling. Keenum can also do his primary job — helping to mentor the Bears‘ young quarterback room — just fine as the third-stringer.
At this point, Bagent is simply the best choice.
Tyson Bagent is Leaving it All Out There in Preseason
Bagent said in Sunday’s postgame that getting the opportunity to play extended snaps for the Bears in the preseason “means the world” to him. The national spotlight might have even helped to put him on the radar with other quarterback-seeking NFL teams, which could serve him well as he braces for potential free agency in the 2026 offseason.
For now, though, Bagent is just trying to live up every snap that he receives, knowing that, if everything goes according to plan, he won’t play much in the months to come.
“If everything goes well, this is it,” Bagent said. “I’ll be watching a lot of football this year, one-eight [Williams] will go out there and do his thing. So this means the world to me. This is my life’s work being put into action right here in front of everybody, so it means a lot, but I’m really just trying to get better myself, day in and day out, bank as many reps as possible and be ready for the long season that’s coming.”
Bears QB Tyson Bagent Takes Subtle Shot at Matt Eberflus, Ex-Coaches