NFL Trade Buzz: One Team Reportedly Interested in Bears' Backup QB Tyson Bagent

Tyson Bagent is one of the league's best backup quarterbacks. The Bears clearly recognized that, as they made him one of the league's highest-paid backups (among players clearly intended to be a backup) with a two-year, $10 million extension in August.

In fact, the 2023 undrafted free agent was so impressive in limited action that some thought he could potentially take the starting job from Caleb Williams. Yes, some people actually believed that. They were surprisingly outspoken on Twitter.

However, the suppressed Bagent chants died down significantly after Caleb Williams' four-touchdown performance against the Cowboys in Week 3. The remaining stragglers jumped off the wagon over the rest of the season, as Williams continued to grow and establish himself as one of the league's budding superstars.

While no one still believes that Bagent should start over Williams, he still offers a lot of value to the team. We've seen countless teams endure instant turmoil when their starting quarterback goes down because they didn't have a quality backup behind him. It happens every season, with the Colts, who started the year 8-4 with Daniel Jones at QB before going winless the rest of the way after he got hurt, being the most recent example.

The Bears would need to get significant compensation in return for Bagent to move him. Longtime sports radio host John Gambadoro thinks the Arizona Cardinals could be a team to keep an eye on as a potential suitor for him.

Have heard the Cardinals are intrigued by Bears backup QB Tyson Bagent. He has one-year left on his deal so would have to trade for him. Grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia and went to Shepherd University. Was an undrafted free-agent who beat out PJ Walker for the backup job…
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) February 17, 2026

That's a really interesting hypothetical. The Cardinals could be entering a rebuilding period. They went 3-14 and benched their starting quarterback, Kyler Murray, this season. He is a prime candidate to get traded this offseason, and the guy who took over the job, Jacoby Brissett, is only signed through the 2026 season.

They could move forward with Brissett as their starter. However, at 33 years old, he's definitely not their preferred answer. 25-year-old Tyson Bagent potentially could be, though. He would also be much cheaper than other potential successors to Kyler Murray's very tiny throne..

Cardinal fans surely wouldn't be thrilled with the outcome, but there's no denying the fact that they're in a precarious situation at the quarterback position.

Per usual, the free agent crop of signal-callers is thin at best, with really only Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers being viable options there. They're not even much better options than Brissett, though. From there, they're picking third in a class with one clear top option at the quarterback position, Fernando Mendoza. Unfortunately for them, they're sitting behind two teams who also desperately need to improve at the position.

Simply put, Mendoza won't be there when they're on the clock. That will leave Arizona with an interesting decision to make. Do they reach for the next-best guy in the class at three (which would be extremely ill-advised in this year's class, but we've seen it done before in similar situations), or do they embrace the rebuild and move forward with Brissett for one more season?

Or, do they shoot an offer over to Chicago for Bagent, who just turned 25 and is signed to a (very) team-friendly deal through the 2027 NFL season. Tough to beat paying your starting QB (which is what he probably would be in Arizona) under $5 million per year.

It's tough to say just how much the Bears would be looking to receive in return, but it's safe to assume they'd listen to the offer. They would only incur a $1 million dead cap hit and save $3.75 million by getting him off the books.

Mentioning any potential return for Bagent would be strictly speculation at this point (hey, that's all we're doing here, anyway!), but I imagine they would get at least a mid-round pick for him. I honestly don't think they'd entertain any offers for less than a fourth-round pick. The risk is just too high (if Williams were to get hurt) for the minimal return on their investment.

If they could potentially get a Day Two selection (which would be much more likely a third-round pick than a second), then it would be a home run. The risk would still be there, but the compensation would make it worth their while. They could potentially add someone who contributes on the defensive side of the ball from day one.

Bagent has always maintained that he views himself as a starter. He isn't at the stage of his career where he's content with being a backup. He wants to prove that he can make a (bigger) name for himself in the league, and this hypothetical would give him that chance.

I wouldn't be opposed to a trade that sent Bagent to the desert if the Bears were to get quality compensation in return for him.

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