The Bears have not yet announced their starting quarterback for Sunday's home game against the Jets, but both Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum will be ready if called upon.
One main reason for that is the two reserves behind Caleb Williams are spending this week like every other: helping each other prepare for the opportunity.
"It's a group effort," Keenum said. "We go in and prepare like a team of quarterbacks every week. We watch film together. We see it the same way. We talk through it. We quiz each other. I ask him — Tyson's the encyclopedia in there — 'What's backside on this route? Oh, that's right, we changed it from this to that.' Then we're both quizzing Caleb when he's rolling. It's a great team effort in there. Every week we're preparing each other to get ready to go."
When Williams sustained a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of the Bears' Week 2 game against the Vikings, Bagent replaced him. But Bagent suffered a concussion and was not cleared from concussion protocol until last Sunday, one day before the Bears hosted the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
As a result, Keenum got the start and made the most of the opportunity, passing for 247 yards and accounting for three touchdowns in a 27-7 win.
It goes without saying that Bagent would have loved to have started that game, but he enjoyed watching his veteran teammate thrive.
"Obviously, I would like everything that the football world can offer me," Bagent said. "But then there's also the fact that I am from [Division II] Shepherd University, so I have absolutely zero ego in this. And nobody is a bigger cheerleader and fan of Case Keenum than I am. I think he's the epitome of what I believe a quarterback is supposed to be, so it was fun to watch him play."
Bagent was impressed with how Keenum prepared for Monday night's start.
"Just how he carries himself throughout the week, I thought that was vital for every quarterback in the room to see that," Bagent said. "I know that I took a ton of notes outside of what we were doing schematically as far as how he was carrying himself and what he did meeting-in and meeting-out."
Keenum is preparing to start Sunday against the Jets, but that's nothing new. It's the same approach he takes every week, regardless of his chances of playing.
"That's part of being quarterback in this league and not being the starter," Keenum said. "You've got to be ready to go, and that's how I prepare every week. It doesn't matter what reps you're getting or not, you've got to be ready to go, so I'll be ready to go this week."
Prior to last Monday night, neither Keenum nor Bagent had started a regular-season game since 2023. After excelling against the Eagles, Keenum is confident that Bagent will do the same if given the opportunity versus the Jets.
"It's not like we've been sitting on the couch eating potato chips," Keenum said. "We've been working our tails off. Part of this job is preparing, and when preparation meets the opportunity, that's what it looks like. And if his name is called, I expect the same, if not better. He's a baller."
Offensive coordinator Press Taylor also believes fully in Bagent, who has posted preseason passer ratings of 119.9 in 2024, 106.6 in 2025 and 119.3 in 2026.
"He's a guy that we've never felt like you have to worry about his mindset," Taylor said. "I mean, he is one of the most locked in people I've ever been around. So, whatever his role looks like, whatever the future for him looks like, you don't worry about any sort of mental lapse with him or any of those guys, honestly, and it's been great to see from that standpoint in that room.
"He operates the system at a high level. I mean, he's an extremely intelligent person, extremely competitive person. You sense a little bit of him and Ben are kind of similar in the competitive edge that they both carry, but also just the intelligence they carry. We install, and he can take it to the grass right away in an hour. All our guys are that way."
