Bear Digest

Tyson Bagent's coming Bears challenge from draft and free agency

The combine turned up a few more QBs with strong arms who could come into the NFL and free agency next week will free up more for Ben Johnson to consider as Caleb Williams' backup.
Gene Chamberlain|
Could Bears backup QB Tyson Bagent be on the verge of getting some job competition? It seems likely considering the influx of QBs and the free agency market.
Could Bears backup QB Tyson Bagent be on the verge of getting some job competition? It seems likely considering the influx of QBs and the free agency market. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Tyson Bagent has had two years backing up the Bears starting quarterbacks, and it's safe to wonder whether he'll get a third.

When the head coach is a former offensive coordinator with an aggressive mindset, it's not too difficult to see Bagent being challenged by another passer when offseason work begins. He had a stiff challenge from Brett Rypien last year before being retained.

Ben Johnson had a strong-armed quarterback in Jared Goff and will again with Caleb Williams, so expecting he would want a backup with arm strength questions seems unlikely. Bagent had a 2-2 record in four rookie starts in 2023 relieving injured Justin Fields, and didn't start last year.

Past speculation had it the Bears would be willing to sign Teddy Bridgewater, the former Lions backup who had retired to coach high school football for a short time. The thinking here is solid, as Bridgewater has some knowledge of the offense Ben Johnson ran and also as a former coach himself he might be able to help mentor Williams.

However, there is no shortage of quarterbacks with decent arms who will be free agents and a few other possibilities surfaced at the combine if the Bears are looking for better arm strength. 

SI.com's Daniel Flick called Louisville's Tyler Shough "...the most mpressive quarterback during Saturday's (QB) period."

Shough already 25 years old so some the immaturity issue plaguing QB wouldn't be a factor, although his age could scare off some.

He's like an NFL backup already in that he seems to go from team to team every year. He played for Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville and tied John Belushi's Animal House record with seven years in college, throwing for 23 of his 59 TDs last year for the Redbirds.

What stood out most was his arm strength and his athleticism. He ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash.

Finding a QB in the draft is not the only answer. Here are possible fits for the Bears, and don't even think about that free agent QB the Steelers have, and I'm not talking about Russell Wilson.

Joe Flacco

He's 40 already but could be a mentor type. Signing a backup as experienced as Flacco could cost in excess of $5 million and it's questionable whether they'd want to spend that. The only problem with bringing him in might be that he's a jinx for the starter. He winds up playing a lot wherever he goes.

Jacoby Brissett

He's always up for backing someone up and usually does a respectable job. Plus, they'd have someone who can run a quarterback sneak. At 33 years old this season, though, it seems unlikely they'd want to pay out the kind money he could command.

Taylor Heinicke

He has plenty of good experience, including playoff games, but cost and arm strength are a question here.

Marcus Mariota

A solid backup if ever there was one with a very healthy 7.5 yards per attempt average like a starter might have. Also very expensive for  backup, at $6 million with the Commanders last year.

Jimmy Garoppolo

Bring back the Rolling Meadows native. He had only $3.178 million on last year's Rams deal but it would seem he'd probably be content to stay with L.A. as backup to Matthew Stafford.

Desmond Ridder

Very experienced with 18 starts an 8-10 record from his time starting in Atlanta and had respectable 84.1 passer rating for his first two years as a backup/starter with the Falcons. At least it's a respectable rating or a backup and player with little experience.

Mason Rudolph

A big (6-5, 235) backup who has a winning record (9-8-1) even after a 1-4 year with Tennessee. His 63.7% completions isn't bad for a backup, either.

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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.