Bears QB Tyson Bagent enters concussion protocol. If he can't play Monday night vs. Eagles, Case Keenum will start under center at Soldier Field.
Just when Bears fans got relatively good news about quarterback Caleb Williams' hamstring injury, the team took another hit at the position.
According to ESPN insider Ian Rapoport, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent "is dealing with a concussion and is in the NFL's concussion protocol."
If Bagent is unable to go for Monday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field, Case Keenum would start in Week 3.
Keenum, 38, has 80 games of NFL experience over 11 years in the NFL. His last start came in the 2023 season on Christmas Eve while he was with the Houston Texans.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson discussed his confidence in the quarterback room when he last spoke to reporters on Monday during his virtually Zoom press conference.
"We’ve got a really dynamic quarterback room in terms of guys that are challenging each other, they’ve got great ideas, very smart, cerebral, they push each other," Johnson said. "We’ve got three guys that can win football games.”
Nothing has been confirmed as to when Bagent sustained his concussion, but on the last play of the game against the Vikings, edge rusher Dallas Turner slammed the Bears' quarterback to the ground.
Bagent did speak to reporters after the game at his locker. He was asked about his process on taking ownership of the offense if Williams is out for an extended period of time.
"I don't think anything will change as far as my week goes, other than practice reps going up," Bagent said. "Just got to continue to stay focused, continue to stay sharp, and prepare the best that we can going into each week."
Keenum talked about his process during the game week on his latest episode of "In Case You're Wondering" on the REKAP YouTube channel while talking to Bears punter Tory Taylor.
"Monday through Saturday, if you're doing that 100%, everything that you do, whether it's sitting at breakfast with your teammates, being a leader in the special teams room, helping out Caleb in the quarterback room, I'm telling you, I go into Sunday even though I haven't had a rep in practice, I had a few reps but not many, I usually don't get many reps, I am so confident because I did everything I possibly could to be the best version of myself if I'm called upon," Keenum said.
Like Williams, Bagent hasn't officially been ruled out for Week 3's game against the Eagles and will have to clear concussion protocol to have any chance of playing on Monday night. In the meantime, Keenum will take the reps with the starting offense.
Johnson is scheduled to talk to the media on Wednesday and should provide further updates on the Bears' quarterback situation.
