Who will emerge as the guy immediately behind Caleb Williams?
Our next training camp battle is hopefully one that never matters for the Chicago Bears this season (or any season, really). Who will be QB2 behind Caleb Williams? Will it be Tyson Bagent? Or will it be Case Keenum?
I believe that both these players will be on the 53-man roster. I would suspect the odds are actually higher that Bagent isn’t on the roster this year more than Keenum (if the Bears decide to only keep two QBs on the 53), but that’s not going to be a talking point in this article, as I think both players remain on the 53-man roster this season.
I think the Bears are also in a unique situation where I think they have to stash all three of these guys on the 53-man roster. I think if they want to keep Austin Reed as a fourth QB, he can spend another season on the practice squad, but I think either of these players, if the Bears tried to stash that on the practice squad, would find other teams knocking on the door to bring them to their franchise.
Case Keenum will be on this roster because he’s not just a veteran QB; at this point, he’s practically an additional quarterback coach. CJ Stroud talked about how invaluable Keenum was to his development. Keenum is a mentor.
That’s not Tyson Bagent. Bagent is only entering year three and has only played significant time in four NFL games. Bagent is here because he’s a decent QB2 with a little bit of upside, and Ryan Poles found that out of a UDFA, which is rare.
If Bagent is on the roster because of his skills and potential development, and Keenum is on this roster due to his veteran presence, this conversation is about who will be active on Sundays, and who will be the emergency QB3.
Keenum was QB3 on the Texans roster last season and didn’t play in any regular-season games. The Texans’ QB2 last season was Davis Mills. Many Bears fans may not agree with this assessment, but Mills is a superior quarterback to Tyson Bagent, so while Keenum didn’t beat out Mills for the QB2 role last season, he could do it this season vs Bagent.
But let’s be honest, the Case Keenum we have seen on the field the last few years is beatable. He’s 37 and not the same guy who went 11-3 in 14 starts for the Minnesota Vikings in 2017.
Since 2020, Keenum has thrown 4 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. He completes just 62% of his passes and has a paltry yards per attempt of 5.7. His QB rating has been 75.1. Keenum’s teams went 3-1 in his four starts over those seasons.
But if we’re being fair, Bagent’s on-field success hasn’t been any better. Bagent has also started four games. He completes passes at a higher percentage but threw fewer touchdowns, more interceptions, has a 6.0 yards per attempt that isn’t much better, leaving his QB rating at 71.9.
Those numbers from those two are a dead heat. The big difference here is age. Bagent is 12 years younger than Keenum and still could develop into a better QB, while Keenum’s skills at this point are simply fading.
But Ben Johnson isn’t going into this season thinking his first season is developmental; he wants to win this season. If it were a developmental season, Bagent would almost certainly be QB2, and if Caleb Williams misses any time, you get Bagent in there and see if he improves.
But this season, the Bears want to win. If Williams misses a few games, Johnson is going to put in the quarterback he feels has the best opportunity to win games until Williams returns.
Anyone who thinks they have the answer at this point as to whether that is Bagent or Keenum is just making things up. This competition is going to depend on how they grasp Johnson’s offense and how well they can operate in it.
We will see how both these QBs look in training camp, joint practices, and, of course, in preseason. That will determine which one of these guys has the main QB2 role behind Caleb Williams.
Some might expect that Bagent has the leg up on Keenum as he’s been here a couple of years already, but Keenum was specifically brought in by Ben Johnson, and I don’t think that can be overlooked either.
I think this training camp battle is truly a coin flip at this point, and it will truly be determined by who plays better on the field and who grasps the offense better in the classroom to determine who is going to be the team’s QB2.
If I had to guess at this point, I think Bagent comes away with the QB2 role simply because he’s younger and his skills aren’t fading like Keenum’s. Keenum hasn’t looked effective in the regular season since 2021, and there’s no reason to think he will magically improve, unless he just hums in Johnson’s offense.
The fans love Bagent, the fans expect Bagent to be QB2, and while that’s probably the most likely outcome, you certainly can’t count out Keenum. This one should be fun, and it should be interesting.