The Bears’ season opener is almost here, and for the sixth time in the last 10 years, the team will have a new quarterback in Week 1. When the team selected Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 season, there was no doubt he would take over as the team’s new starter. If he is cut, the Bears have another familiar face waiting in the wings. Most teams like to have a developmental QB or emergency veteran on the practice squad, and the Bears have one of those, too.
Here’s a look at the Bears’ QB room:
CALEB WILLIAMS – BEGINNER
For the first time since 1970, when the modern draft era began, the Bears are projected to have a rookie QB start in Week 1. Kyle Orton started the year as a rookie in 2005, but only because Rex Grossman broke his ankle in the preseason.
This situation is unlike any other. The Bears got the No. 1 overall pick via the Panthers, thanks to the trade that sent the 2023 No. 1 overall pick to Carolina, and not because they were the worst team in the league. In fact, they have an ascending defense and potentially the best cast of playmakers around a No. 1 overall QB ever. Williams will have the opportunity to lean on last year’s star DJ Moore, future Hall of Famer Keenan Allen, No. 9 overall pick Rome Odunze, and two big targets at tight end in Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett. Free agent running back D’Andre Swift has proven to be an agile running back in the run game and a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, too.
The wealth of talented playmakers around Williams should help him play up to his own talents, which are impressive in their own way. Simply put, Williams is good at just about everything you’d expect from an NFL quarterback. His off-script play gets most of the attention, as he has the ability to make accurate throws when things go wrong, but he’s also effective in the normal rhythm of the offense. Williams processes what’s happening after the snap quickly and moves well through his progressions to deliver timely passes to his receivers. He has the innate ability to sense pressure as it approaches and navigate the pocket accordingly. Williams also keeps his eyes downfield for as long as he can. He’s always looking to pass first and only starts running when he’s out of options. When Williams is scrambling, he’s an above-average athlete.
What makes this particularly impressive is that Williams manages to do it while taking good care of the ball. In 37 games between Oklahoma and USC, Williams has completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 10,082 yards, 93 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. He also has 966 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.
If there’s one criticism to be made of Williams, it’s that he fumbled the ball at a higher rate in 2023 when he was playing hero ball for the Trojans. According to PFF, he fumbled the ball 16 times last year, compared to six fumbles in 2022 and 11 in 2021.
Things haven’t always been easy for Williams and the first-team offense as they all develop chemistry and learn new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s scheme, but there’s real reason to be optimistic about the team’s future with Williams leading the way.
TYSON BAGENT – REPLACEMENT
Bagent solidified his position as the obvious replacement in the Bears QB room after another impressive summer. He and the second-team offense often outperformed the starters, even when they faced lesser competition. Regardless, the team should feel good about Bagent’s ability to lead the team to a few wins if Williams goes down for whatever reason. After all, that’s exactly what he did last year.
The Bears signed Bagent as an undrafted free agent out of little-known Shepherd University last summer, and he began the offseason as the No. 4 quarterback behind P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman. Bagent quickly rose through the ranks, demonstrating that he could not only learn an NFL offense but execute it at a high level. By the time the Bears broke camp in 2023, he had earned the backup job.
Bagent was called into action last year when Fields injured his thumb in Week 6 and ended up starting four games. Bagent and the rest of the offense weren’t exactly explosive in those games, but they were efficient. Bagent completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 776 yards and added 105 yards rushing. He threw three touchdowns, ran for another touchdown and fumbled the ball six times. More importantly, the Bears finished 2-2.
AUSTIN REED – TRAINING SQUAD
After Bagent’s success, the Bears went back to the UDFA to add Reed this offseason. But Reed never got a real chance to take over as a backup this year as Bagent performed well in camp — unlike in 2023, when Walker struggled and left the door open for Bagent to climb the depth chart. Due to a rained-out Hall of Fame game and a slow start from the first team in the third preseason game, Reed didn’t get much of a chance to show what he could do with live reps either. During the team’s exhibition schedule, Reed completed 12-16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
When it came time to cut the roster, the question was whether the Bears would keep Reed, another QB developing with the team, or keep Brett Rypien, a veteran who knows Waldron’s offense well. In the end, Rypien landed on the Vikings’ active roster, so it was an easy choice for general manager Ryan Poles to bring Reed back to the Bears’ practice squad. He’ll have all year to continue learning the nuances of playing quarterback at the NFL level.
