Bears QBs Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent Praise Staff's Extreme Dedication

Long before Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum set foot on Soldier Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets, there were countless hours of preparation being done behind the scenes for the Chicago Bears' quarterbacks. 

Keenum shared during his postgame press conference after the 27-7 win over the Eagles, that he put in 14-16 hour workdays ahead of the Monday night matchup. Bagent shared during his postgame press conference that Keenum was vital for him throughout his week of preparation for Sunday's game against the Jets, a 23-12 win.

Prior to the last two weeks, Keenum and Bagent hadn't started a game since the 2023 season. Now, that doesn't mean the two quarterbacks were sitting around and eating potato chips while whoever was in front of them started games.

That type of mentality wouldn't have been allowed under Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Bagent joined Keenum on the REKAP's "In Case You're Wondering" show and shared some behind-the-scenes details on the preparaton and mindset of Johnson's staff. 

"Ben, this staff, they do not play," Bagent said. "You're constantly being tested even when you're not knowing it. They're super critical on each rep, just wanting to make the most of it as far as like, you know, however we go about each play, banking reps, all that stuff. So I think that this coach really doesn't allow for any of that, which is also a reason I think you've been able to see guys step up to the plate and continue to play ahead."

The Bears have three wins with three starting quarterbacks in the first four weeks of the season, something that hasn't been done since the 1997 Jaguars, who started Rob Johnson, Steve Matthews and Mark Brunell to start that year. 

For the Bears to have success throughout the quarterback room, it takes an entire staff working in sync. Keenum asked Bagent to highlight quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett and the workload he takes on each week to prepare the position group. 

Bagent pointed directly to Barrett's growth in his second year as Chicago's quarterbacks coach, noticing his increasing comfort within the weekly schedule, from how he runs drills in practice to the defensive looks he presents when players return to Halas Hall on Wednesdays.

Keenum described Barrett's dedication as "servant leadership," and that's on full display with the amount of hours (and days) Barrett stays at Halas Hall. 

"We get texts like 11:30 at night with some of the game plan notes and stuff like when they finish up and then again at like 5:45 a.m. before I get up sometimes," Keenum said. 

Bagent said: "He's sleeping in his cot in the building multiple days out of the week, you know, for us and for us to be able to put good stuff and play with rhythm and timing on Sunday. So I just think that those two things, and he's a cool dude, man. I mean you run into some of these coaches, and they're super squares, and you know, they don't know how to have fun. ..."

Barrett isn't the only coach who has slept at Halas Hall. Rookie tight end Sam Roush shared on CHGO that he caught head coach Ben Johnson with bed head hair after he arrived for a summer workout. 

Maybe Barrett is taking after the head coach, but he has found that right balance with how to coach every quarterback in the room. Keenum said he has "so much respect for J.T.," and also acknowledged that it's not easy coaching for head coach Ben Johnson. 

"He [Barrett] gets a lot of the heat that probably should be coming to us," Keenum said. "... J.T.'s able to disseminate a lot of that and bring us the coaching points from Ben through him to us in our own unique way. I think it has been tremendous."

Keenum also made sure to highlight offensive coordinator Press Taylor, describing him as having a "beautiful mind" that has a wealth of knowledge from how to beat certain coverages, personnel groupings and "all the thing you could possibly want in game planning type of guy. It's unbelievable."

This Bears quarterback room isn't just learning from the coaching staff. Bagent gained invaluable insight simply by watching Keenum lead the offense during the week of preparation for the Eagles. It makes sense why Bagent referred to Keenum as "Coach" during his appearance on "In Case You're Wondering."

"I've said this just countless times but just watching you during your week when I wasn't going back, watching you, just having equally as many notes with just how you carried yourself meeting in, meeting out, how you carried yourself on the field, how you communicate with the guys, I thought it was vital for all of us," Bagent said.