Shortly before he began his third NFL season in 2025, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent inked a two-year, $10MM extension with the Bears. The deal keeps Bagent under wraps through 2027, but he may finish it in one other uniform. General manager Ryan Poles revealed Tuesday that teams have inquired about Bagent. Poles wouldn’t rule out trading the 25-year-old, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Bagent, who joined the Bears as an undrafted free agent from Division II Shepherd in 2023, backed up Justin Fields as a rookie. But Bagent still made five appearances and 4 starts, during which he accomplished 65.7% of throws for 859 yards (6.0 per attempt), three touchdowns, six interceptions and a 71.4 passer rating. Bagent has barely seen any regular-season motion since then.
The Bears cut the cord on the failed Fields experiment after they traded him to the Steelers in March 2024. Although the Bears won seven games throughout the Fields/Bagent season, that they had already secured the No. 1 pick within the draft because of a March 2023 blockbuster with the Panthers.
A month after the Bears dumped Fields, they used the highest selection in 2024 on former USC Heisman Trophy-winning QB Caleb Williams. As expected, Williams was the Bears’ starter from Day 1. He has not missed a game two years later.
While Williams’ profession got off to a somewhat rocky start during a 5-12 rookie 12 months, he and the Bears made enormous strides in an NFC North-winning campaign in 2025. The Bears went on to win their wild-card matchup against the hated Packers, but their season ended every week later with an time beyond regulation loss to the Rams within the divisional round.
With Williams now looking just like the long-awaited answer under center for the Bears, Bagent doesn’t have an actual path to playing time in Chicago. The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder has attempted just six passes in seven appearances since Williams got here to town, but head coach Ben Johnson regards his backup as a starting-caliber QB.
“I do think there’s loads of merit to having a robust No. 2 quarterback, which he definitely suits that bill,” Johnson said Tuesday (via Finley). “I’m of the mind that he’s probably top-of-the-line 32 within the NFL. His preseason tape over the previous few years has probably confirmed that, for my part. But when I took myself out of the equation, I would like what’s best for him. If he would really like a chance to begin, I definitely hope he can get that somewhere.”
That’s a glowing endorsement from Johnson, one in every of the league’s brightest offensive minds. If at the least one other team agrees with Johnson’s assessment, it could put Poles in position to sell high on Bagent this offseason.