With the parade route still being finalized in celebration of Tyson Bagent’s meteoric rise from Division II Shepherd University to No. 2 on the Bears’ quarterback depth chart, coach Matt Eberflus tapped the brakes ever so lightly Tuesday.
Asked if Bagent would be Justin Fields’ backup heading into the season opener against the Packers on Sept. 10, Eberflus didn’t say no, but he didn’t say yes. This fairy tale might be interrupted by a chapter of NFL reality.
“Just kind of letting the roster finalize itself,” Eberflus said less than two hours before NFL rosters were officially cut to 53 players. “We certainly feel great about where he is. He’s put his best foot forward, and we’re excited where we see him going in the future.”
Typifying the Bears’ generally awkward post-Luckman history with quarterbacks, they’re kind of stuck in the middle with Bagent. The 23-year-old from Martinsburg, West Virginia, was too good to risk attempting to put him on the practice squad after his impressive performances in the preseason. But unless he’s Tom Brady or Kurt Warner 2.0, he’s too inexperienced to back up Fields, who himself is trying to master coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense.
The obvious solution would be to acquire a veteran quarterback as the backup and keep Bagent on the 53-man roster to protect him from being claimed by another team. (For what it’s worth, Bill Belichick kept four quarterbacks on the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster when Brady was a rookie in 2000.)
“Yeah, that’s a good thought. We’re certainly looking at that option,” Eberflus said. “We’re looking at other options, too. But that’s a good thought when you can have somebody with experience in there to help younger quarterbacks. It’s something that we’ve talked about.”
Only the Bears can have such a spirited debate over their No. 2 quarterback when the future of their fledgling No. 1 quarterback is still an issue. But Bagent has earned his way into the discussion with his impressive command of the position, his adjustment to Getsy’s system, his acclimation to the NFL and his execution since he stepped foot in Halas Hall as an undrafted free agent.
More than other newcomers who have been as proficient in training camp and the preseason, Bagent looks like a quarterback who could take his game to whatever level he plays at. And he’s operating in an offense still on training wheels in Getsy’s second season. Imagine what he could do as part of a well-oiled machine, as Brock Purdy — last year’s unlikely NFL quarterback success story — did with the 49ers and coach Kyle Shanahan.
Of course, it’s always possible we’re seeing more than is actually there. This is Chicago, where screen passes that go for touchdowns are celebrated as a revelation and anything any quarterback does well is magnified in the times-two range. It’s also possible that PJ Walker’s conspicuous failure in camp further distorted Bagent’s performance.
What are the odds that Bagent is the next Purdy? It doesn’t matter. The Bears need quarterbacks. Bagent looks the part. In these parts, that earns you the audition.
But it’s likely the Bears will be better off having Bagent dip his toes in the NFL water rather than putting him one bad hit away from having to throw him in the deep end. That seems like the plan the Bears want to go with.
Asked about the Bears’ big-picture plan for Bagent this season, Eberflus said, “Just improve and get better. He’s gonna learn as he goes through the process of how the game plan changes every week, and that’s probably a lot different than what he’s used to.”
That plays into what looks to be yet another Bagent strength — he learns well. And that’s a good thing around here. Because even as a No. 3 quarterback, if this kid is for real, we’ll probably find out sooner rather than later.
