It looks as if Case Keenum is going to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Tyson Bagent and Caleb Williams are two more possibilities, depending on their health. When it comes to the QBs for the Bears, very little is certain at the moment.
The 38-year-old Keenum practiced on Wednesday as Chicago ramped up its preparation for its matchup with Philadelphia. Keenum hasn't played in a regular-season game since Dec. 24, 2023, but at least he is healthy right now.
"We feel really good about whoever ends up playing for us and that showed in the preseason, shows up in practice every single day," coach Ben Johnson said. "So we’re at a point right now, not sure who the starter is going to be on Monday night. We’ll let this thing play out, and we’ll go from there." Williams left Sunday’s 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a right hamstring injury after he got hurt on a scramble midway through the fourth quarter.
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft hasn't been ruled out for the contest against the Eagles, but mobility is a big part of his game and cautiousness is the most likely approach for Chicago when it comes to the franchise's biggest star. Bagent, 26, was 5 for 9 for 54 yards after he replaced Williams against the Vikings.
He was sacked by Dallas Turner on the final play of the game. Bagent was in line to make his fifth career start. But Johnson got a text message on Tuesday morning that Bagent was going to get evaluated for concussion symptoms, and he had been placed in the concussion protocol.
The timeline for his return is unclear. "Honestly, I’m not even in that," Johnson said. "They’ll let me know when he’s available." Chicago, which opened the season with a 59-37 win at the Carolina Panthers, also has rookie Miller Moss on its practice squad.
The team has no plans to add another quarterback this week. Johnson said he is looking at the uncertainty as an "opportunity." "I think our guys see it as that as well," he said. "One of those things that everyone outside the building, I am sure, is writing us off and telling us it can’t be done and we really relish that.
And so guys will step up to the plate, guys that maybe we don’t anticipate or expect. We have a really talented team." Reporting by The Associated Press.
