Case Keenum is a nice story, but Bears should pivot to Tyson Bagent | Opinion

Case Keenum is a nice story, but Bears should pivot to Tyson Bagent Opinion.

Key points

• It was the first regular-season game the 38-year-old journeyman had played in more than 1, 000 days.
• Bagent hasn't began an NFL game since his rookie year, when he went 2-2 while subbing in for Justin Fields, and never for Johnson.
• At some point, Bagent's contract is going to expire (after the 2027 season actually).
• Case Keenum and Marcus Mariota stepped up in Week 3.
• "There was a reason why Tyson ended training camp as our number two quarterback, " Johnson remarked after beating the Eagles.

Week 3 was a reminder of just how significant backup QBs are in the NFL.

Case Keenum and Marcus Mariota stepped up in Week 3. Joe Rivera and Jacob Camenker break down why having the right backup QB can save an NFL season.

As the 2026 NFL season enters October, perhaps there's been no better story over the first few weeks than third-string quarterback Case Keenum leading the Chicago Bears to a resounding 27-7 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a "Monday Night Football" audience on Sept. 28. It was the first regular-season game the 38-year-old journeyman had played in more than 1, 000 days.

But if the Bears are smart, they won't try to double down on the Keenum magic by asking him to perform an encore six days afterwards.

As head coach Ben Johnson prepares the Bears to face the atypically frisky New York Jets at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, he isn't saying whether Keenum or backup Tyson Bagent. This person spent most of the week prior to the Eagles game in concussion protocol, will start. Though the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2 is projected to keep him out for roughly a month, johnson even left the door open for blossoming starter Caleb Williams to play. He was ruled out on Friday.

"We've got three guys, and we'll work through the week and see where they're at, " Johnson remarked Wednesday. "Whoever we feel like gives us the best chance to win."

And while Keenum ripped through the Eagles defense for 247 yards and two TDs with his arm before scoring himself on a "sucker sneak" for a fourth-quarter exclamation point, there are simply too plenty of good reasons for Johnson to pivot to Bagent against the Jets. So let's count them. Bears have already signaled preference for Tyson Bagent.

Though it definitely happens – just ask Drew Bledsoe, Trent Green, Trey Lance or countless others, you're not supposed to lose your job since of injury in the NFL. But vaulting a nomadic QB3 who may be an ex-NFL player at just regarding any time over a highly regarded, young backup seems foolish.

When the Bears pre-emptively offered him a two-year, $10 million contract extension last summer, the coach additionally gushed concerning Bagent, an undrafted free agent in 2023 despite setting numerous NCAA and FCS passing records at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia.

"I've really been blown away by his approach, " Johnson, who knows a little something regarding quarterbacks and offense, stated at the time.

"He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it and getting it done. I think we actually have one of the best rooms in the NFL, certainly that I've been around in my career from top to bottom." Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor was almost as complimentary this week.

"He's a guy that we've never felt like you have to worry about his mindset, " he remarked of Bagent. "He's one of the most locked in people I've ever been around." Tyson Bagent needs reps, for his own good and Bears.

Bagent hasn't began an NFL game since his rookie year, when he went 2-2 while subbing in for Justin Fields, and never for Johnson. This person was hired last year. And while it's tempting to go back to Keenum, getting Bagent sharpened and further experienced is probably the best play over the longer run – especially if Williams goes down again afterwards this season.

Additionally? At some point, Bagent's contract is going to expire (after the 2027 season actually). Yet he's already shown enough to suggest he's the kind of player another team might want to take a chance on as its long-term starter – in a similar vein as Jimmy Garoppolo or, just this year, Malik Willis. If Bagent gets more game action and excels – which seems fairly probable given what Keenum just put on tape while playing in Johnson's system – then it becomes far more probable that the 26-year-old becomes a valuable asset that GM Ryan Poles could eventually spin off into draft capital at a time when it seems probable the Bears will no longer be perennially choosing players in the top 10.

"I have absolutely zero ego in this, and nobody's a bigger cheerleader and a fan of Case Keenum than I am, " Bagent remarked Thursday.

"Yes, of course, it goes without being said that I would love to be in the game, love to make an impact for the team and love to make a difference when my number is called." The Ben Johnson factor.

Chicago's coach, perhaps the most highly regarded offensive mind in the league right now, just put another impressive bullet point on his résumé with Monday night's win. And it's significant to note he had a full week to prepare a game plan tailored to Keenum – and his limitations. And the Eagles basically invited Keenum to beat them, instead clamping down on the Bears' normally prolific ground game to the tune of 3.7 yards per carry – that success partly fueled since Keenum lacks the mobility of Bagent or Williams. And while Rome Odunze dropped a perfectly thrown Keenum pass for a TD, what turned into a spectacular 41-yard TD pass to Kalif Raymond afterwards in the game was a complete bailout by Raymond – the wide receiver almost pirouetting to snatch a poorly thrown pass before taking it to the house.

Though they're only 1-2, the Jets are playing far better football – offensively and defensively – than the Eagles and just took Johnson's former team, the still-explosive Detroit Lions, to the wire in Motown last weekend. The Bears will almost certainly benefit from putting Bagent into the lineup given his ability to contribute to the running game with his fresh legs, operate more effectively on rollouts and additionally stretch the field given his arm is much stronger than Keenum's. And opening downfield windows for Johnson is typically deadly for the opposition.

Changing QBs creates another difficulty for Jets.

Part of the reason for Keenum's success was additionally that the Eagles really had no topical film to study of him operating Johnson's offense – and preseason most definitely does not count. The same will apply to Bagent. This person should now benefit from more than a full week of prep since he came back from the concussion, and maybe more so since his physical skill set should broaden Johnson's play-calling options.

And if you don't think teams struggle to beat unfamiliar backups? Consider that the six quarterbacks who have began games this season – despite not being their respective team's Week 1 starter – are a collective 6-0. It's another good reason to start Bagent, especially since the Jets have a much better idea how to defend Keenum than Philadelphia did.

And Keenum wants you to know the Bears will be fine, for now, with Williams out and that you should expect them to excel regardless of who's in the lineup – maybe especially so with Bagent.

"It's not like we've been sitting on the couch and eating potato chips, or tortilla chips and queso and guac and salsa, " he remarked, referring to himself and Bagent.

"We've been working our tails off. That's part of this job, preparing. And when preparation meets the opportunity that's what it looks like. If his name's called, I expect the same, if not better. He's a baller." Sounds like Case closed.

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For now, case Keenum is a nice story, but Bears should pivot to Tyson remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.