The only thing we should expect from Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is to expect the unexpected.
Last week against the New York Jets, all signs pointed to Tyson Bagent getting the first start since he was a rookie in 2023. There were even a couple of prominent NFL insiders who broke the news that Bagent took the majority of the first-team reps during the week of practice, so obviously, it would be Bagent.
Only it wasn’t. Well, it sort of wasn’t, because Bagent did start, but Case Keenum also
started, and since Keenum took the snap, the official record books show that the 38-year-old Keenum started a second consecutive game at quarterback for the Bears.
Johnson said he opened the game that way because reports leaked about their intention to start Bagent.
“Well, I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement, so I wanted to get Case out there,” Johnson said in his postgame press conference. “It was like his ceremonial first pitch out there. Handing off the torch.”
That brings us to Sunday’s Bears clash with the Green Bay Packers.
Johnson said earlier in the week that Bagent would start, and he still may, but Caleb Williams returned to practice today for the first time since injuring his hamstring on September 20, and his game status is officially questionable.
Before Williams was limited at today’s practice, Johnson met the media and discussed what Williams has been doing earlier in the week.
“We’ve got him progressively increasing the amount of running that’s going on, and of course the throwing aspect of it is a big part of his position as well,” Johnson said. “Our guys have a good plan in place, and we’re just going step-by-step with that right now. Every couple of days we’re getting this throwing protocol in and making sure there are no setbacks. So far, so good.”
I assume Ben knew Caleb would get some actual practice time in, but I also assume he’s not quite ready. But this is a great step towards him getting in more side work this weekend, and then if he’s cleared to practice in full, he’ll be in line to start the Week 6 game in Atlanta.
The line at FanDuel Sportsbook hasn’t moved (it’s still Packers +1.5), so the oddsmakers don’t think Chicago will get its QB1 back on Sunday in Green Bay, but this latest development may prompt the Packers to address that possibility.
