The Chicago Bears rested their starters in their preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, which gave backups Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum to get some reps in against a live defense in different colors.
Bagent went against the Dolphins for the entire first half, while Keenum played for some of the second half, and Austin Reed closed things out.
Reed is likely going to be cut or put on the practice squad after training camp is over. Bagent and Keenum, however, are going to be the backup and third stringer. Who lands which role remains to be seen.
Right now, Bagent seems to have the inside track as he played the most on Sunday. His signature play was his touchdown pass to Maurice Alexander in the back of the endzone, which head coach Ben Johnson talked about after the game.
“I thought Tyson did a great job,” Johnson said. “That was one of those high back throws we’ve been talking about. Maurice is actually the secondary option, so number one wasn’t there. Tyson got to number two and gave him a chance. He climbed the ladder and went up there and get it and got both feet inbounds. Huge play for us there in there tight.”
Bagent’s big play put the Bears on the board for the first time in the football game, and for the first time during the exhibition season. From there, they started to operate like a real offense. Chicago hadn’t had that feeling in a long time, preseason or not.
Nothing was perfect for any of the quarterbacks in this game, which Johnson recognized, but it was a solid start for both quarterbacks.
“I thought both of those guys (Bagent & Keenum) operated at a high level,” Johnson said. “We’ve been having some ups and downs over the course of camp just operation, pre-snap penalties, all that. I felt like we were — we weren’t a hundred percent, but we were pretty smooth. There are some things that got thrown at us over the course of the game, you know, whether cover zero or they’re playing base to 11, so things are changing pretty quickly there, and yet they were able to stay calm and composed and make sure we were organized and gave us a chance to have a good play. I know it wasn’t all fun and games out there in terms of getting yards and all that, but I thought they did a great job keeping the unit going.”
This is all you can ask for from these guys during the first preseason game. They aren’t as talented as Williams, but they know how to run an offense because of their experience in the league. Bagent is 2-2 as a starter, and Keenum has made big plays, including a game-winning explosive play to win a playoff game with the Minnesota Vikings. These are great players to have backing up Williams.
These backup quarterbacks have accepted and executed their roles to this point. That doesn’t mean that they don’t want to play; they just have to continue being great in their role until the time is right. Johnson seems to appreciate them and their efforts thus far.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson breaks down Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum after preseason opener
Reporting by Vincent Parise, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
