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What Bears' Signing of Miller Moss Says for Ben Johnson's QB Plan

The Bears brought in Caleb Williams' former backup at USC, further indication of how their coach has flipped the script with a position of past frustrations.
Gene Chamberlain|
Former USC quarterbacks Miller Moss (7) and Caleb Williams (13) throw during warmups before the spring game.
Former USC quarterbacks Miller Moss (7) and Caleb Williams (13) throw during warmups before the spring game. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears do not differentiate between positions when it comes to finding ways to boost competition.

Even Caleb Williams is susceptible to being pushed but if he has to have people looking over his shoulder it's good to have a former teammate among those doing it. The signing of former USC and Louisville quarterback Miller Moss as an unrestricted free agent by the Bears validates again how the Bears' personnel process works but also helps bring together their quarterback room.

"We did really good work," Bears GM Ryan Poles said after the draft. "(Quarterbacks coach) J.T. (Barrett) and some of our scouts got together and watched a large stack of quarterbacks and tried to identify ones that could come here and compete and perform.

"It's important to keep working that quarterback room and making sure that we get guys that can come here and, again, add to the competition, and guys that we want to pour into so that they can develop. Then, we'll see where it goes."

Moss was at USC before Williams transferred in with coach Lincoln Riley's hiring, then was his understudy for two seasons before getting the chance to play nine games in 2024 during the Trojans' incorporation into the Big Ten. He moved on to Louisville through the transfer portal for last season.

As a college QB, he posted a 65.1% rate of completion for his career (543 of 834) for 6,148 yads and 43 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. In his last two years as a starter, he completed 64.4% and 64.2% for 34 TDs and 16 pick.

Moss, who is 6-2, 210, has been much more of a pocket passer than Williams.

Moss' signing at least means they don't need to scramble around for someone to throw passes at rookie camp. There was a time during the Lovie Smith era that former offensive coordinator Ron Turner had his son come in and throw passes because of their lack of legitimate arms at rookie camp.

A stable of arms?

The Bears had overtures for a Tyson Bagent trade predraft but nothing materialized. They have veteran Case Keenum under contract again for this season. Now there is a fourth, much like when they had Austin Reed. He has gone on to succeeded as a UFL starter at Dallas.

Johnson would appear to be producing a quarterback factory of sorts, based on Reid's success and the way Bagent became popular among teams looking for quarterback help. He's doing things the right way on offense and teams around the league know they'll get someone with a good base if they were in Johnson's system.

Keenum's expertise helps QBs develop just as working with coaches like Barrett, Press Taylor and Robbie Picazo does.

It's all a situation built on theory, of course. The Bears have, so far, avoided testing the talent of these backups since Williams arrived on the scene. It's a situation they no doubt hope to avoid.

Keenum obviously has been tested over the years but Bagent's only real experience came in 2023 as a rookie and was four games with mixed success while former starter Justin Fields was injured.

Keenum is 38 and won't play forever. At some point, they might decide they no longer need the guiding veteran hand in the background for their young quarterback corps, and in that case someone with Division I experience like Moss could become a more valued asset. For now, it can't hurt Williams having another familiar face around.

Either way, the Bears now look closer to achieving something they once said they wanted to do and that was add a new quarterback every year. It's easier to accomplish and more helpful when the starter is established and producing wins like Williams, and the coach actually knows something about quarterbacks after decades in Chicago when this wasn't the case.

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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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