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Now Chicago Finally Has a Reason to Pay Attention to the UFL

Austin Reed spent two training camps with the Bears and was highlighted in Hard Knocks, and now he's breaking UFL records.
Gene Chamberlain|
Austin Reed takes the field prior to a Bears preseason game with Kansas City.
Austin Reed takes the field prior to a Bears preseason game with Kansas City. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Spring pro football rarely draws much attention in Chicago, but Bears fans should note something from the first week of UFL play.

AR-15 is back, but not with the Bears.

They let quarterback Austin Reed go last year after he spent 2024 on their practice squad and had been one of the subjects closely followed by HBO's Hard Knocks. Reed wasn't brought back for the practice squad last year because they kept that spot for veteran Case Keenum to be a mentor to Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent. The previous year, the former Western Kentucky, SIU, and West Florida QB looked like he could be a long-term project.

On Saturday, Reed set a UFL record for passing yards with 370 and also threw three touchdown passes in a 26-for-40 effort as Dallas Renegades starter in a 36-17 win over the Houston Gamblers.

It has Bears social media going wild and asking the team to bring him back.

This is done, now. The cat is out of the bag for the rest of the NFL. A team with far greater quarterback needs than the Bears will be in pursuit of Reed, who needs to play more and will no doubt benefit from getting on the field for these spring games.

Why would Reed want to return to Chicago to be a fourth quarterback who isn't on the roster, or even a third QB who isn't on the roster?

Perhaps if the Bears traded Tyson Bagent then it would make sense.

UFL success doesn't translate to NFL success. There were only 46 from the UFL to make NFL opening-day rosters last year and the biggest impacts might have been kickers like Brandon Aubrey and Jake Bates. It's a lower level of ball ball.

Nevertheless, it's good to see Reed succeeding with playing time. He had only 33 pass attempts in preseason games or the Bears in two years, going  of 33 for 230 yards and a TD with a 99.3 passer rating.  

The Bears appear to have had an eye for someone with talent at the position since Ryan Poles came on board. Caleb Williams, Bagent, and Reed all have shown promise in some way, and in 2024 preseason Brett Rypien put up the best preseason numbers in the league before being cut. All of this came under two different coaching staffs.

At the worst, this gives Chicago football fans something more to watch with UFL games since there is no area team involved in that league.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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