Bears Reportedly Expected To Start Tyson Bagent At Qb In Week 4 Vs. Jets

Despite making a convincing case for why he should continue to serve as the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback while Caleb Williams nurses his hamstring injury, Case Keenum will back up Tyson Bagent on Sunday against the New York Jets, according tomultiple reports Saturday.

Bagent, a former undrafted free agent from Division II Shepherd University whom the Bears signed to a two-year extension in August 2025, will reportedly get the Week 4 start.

Although Ben Johnson lauded Keenum for a prime-time performance in which the 38-year-old turned back the clock, threw for 247 yards and accounted for three touchdowns (one on a QB sneak) in a 27-7 win over the Eagles, the second-year Chicago head coach made it clear there was a reason why Bagent has been Williams' backup.

Keenum started over Bagent in Week 3 because Bagent missed most of the practice week in concussion protocol. The 26-year-old Bagent sustained the injury late in the fourth quarter the previous week amid a 9-3, rain-soaked defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.

At the time, he was replacing Williams, who suffered what's been most recently reported as a Grade 2 hamstring strain that could wind up sidelining him for a month.

Bagent took the majority of first-team reps at practice this week, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, via ESPN's Saturday report.

Bagent has previously started regular-season games for the Bears. In 2023, while playing for then-head coach Matt Eberflus as a rookie, he made four starts in the place of Justin Fields, who was nursing a thumb injury. Those starts were successive, from Week 7 to Week 10. Bagent led Chicago to a 2-2 record in that span.

That run began with him completing 72.4% of his attempts with one touchdown and no picks in a 30-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Over that four-game stretch, Bagent proved accurate, yet turnover-prone. He posted a 3:5 touchdown-to-interception rate; however, he registered a 65.1% completion rate along the way. Plus, he ran for 105 yards and a score.

It's been more than 1,050 days since Bagent's last regular-season start. Then again, Keenum had about just as long of a drought before his spotlight-stealing outing last Monday.