Chicago Bears: Trade chatter might lead to Tyson Bagent start vs Jets

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was mum on who would get the starting quarterback job in Week 4 against the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Bears opted not to put Caleb Williams on injured reserve before playing the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, but the quarterback is still week-to-week with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Tyson Bagent cleared the concussion protocol on Sunday, but did not get enough practice time to start against the Eagles.

Third-string quarterback Case Keenum had the game of his life on “Monday Night Football,” throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ 27-7 win over the Eagles.

Should the Bears go with the hot hand against the Jets? Or could New York use the tape of Monday night’s game to better stop Keenum? After all, it was obvious the Eagles weren’t ready for Johnson’s game plan of choosing to be aggressive in the passing game over using the rushing attack.

Dan Graziano of ESPN suggested that the Bears could decide to go with Bagent. That could allow Bagent’s stock to rise before the trade deadline on Nov. 10.

“We heard talk in the offseason about the Bears looking into trading Tyson Bagent, and maybe someone gets interested if he gets a start or two during Caleb Williams’ absence and looks good,” Graziano wrote.

Chicago Bears: Tyson Bagent hasn’t started since 2023

Bagent has not started a game since his rookie season in 2023. He went 2-2 when Justin Fields was battling injury.

Should the Bears even decide to think about trading Bagent? Probably not, unless they feel Keenum is good enough to play winning football in the postseason. Competent backups are essential for playoff-caliber teams. The Seattle Seahawks improved to 2-0 with Drew Lock replacing Sam Darnold at the start of this season.

The Denver Broncos would have made the Super Bowl had they had better quarterback play from a backup after Bo Nix suffered a broken ankle in the AFC Divisional Round. The Broncos, with Jarrett Stidham, scored just a touchdown in a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship.

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