The Chicago Bears are leaning toward Tyson Bagent as their starter against the New York Jets, and that choice is already drawing quiet disagreement from the other side of the matchup.
NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported Saturday that all signs point to Bagent taking the first snap Sunday, with Caleb Williams still listed week to week.
Pelissero added that if Bagent produces the way Case Keenum did Monday night, there is little reason to hurry Williams back.
That logic has not landed with everyone preparing for the game.
On the “Jets Collective” podcast, ESPN’s Rich Cimini said he had asked a couple of Jets players about the decision.
“I asked a couple of Jets players, and they were like, ‘If I were them, I’d start Case Keenum,’” Cimini said.
That’s quite the warning from your opponent, and Cimini was not speaking only for the players he surveyed.
“The Bears love Tyson Bagent; I don’t get it,” Cimini added. “I mean, the guy hasn’t played in a while. I know he did well a couple of years ago when they had to throw him in there for a few games, but I’m like, I would play Keenum, but I don’t think they will,” he added.
Longtime radio analyst Brandon Tierney, also on the podcast, reached a similar conclusion while still expecting Chicago to stick with its plan.
“I think we will see Bagent; I don’t really agree with that, though,” Tierney said. “The vibes were good; I wouldn’t mess with that, but I think that they will.”
The split is between recent evidence and institutional preference. Keenum, in his 15th NFL season and with 67 career starts, came off the bench and played well enough against the Philadelphia Eagles that the conversation shifted.
Bagent has only four regular-season starts, with six interceptions against three touchdown passes, a 65.8 percent completion rate, and 971 yards. Chicago has seen more from him in August.
In the preseason finale at Tennessee, Dan Wiederer of The Athletic noted, Bagent completed 16 of 17 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including a 97-yard strike to Zavion Thomas, and finished with a 156.9 passer rating.
Ben Johnson’s staff has kept the starter question unsettled until late in the week, then appeared to settle it in Bagent’s favor. For the Jets players Cimini spoke with, that still looks like the wrong read.
They would rather face the uncertainty of a quarterback who has barely played than the continuity of a veteran who just moved the offense. Whether that preference is scouting or wishful thinking will be clearer once the ball is snapped.
