When Tyson Bagent signed with the Bears as an undrafted rookie quarterback out of Division II Shepherd University, he appeared to be merely a camp arm who might make the practice squad if he showed enough promise. But after Bagent’s strong performance in Saturday night’s preseason game, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Bagent might not only make the roster, but even be the No. 2 quarterback behind Justin Fields in Week One.
Eberflus said he can’t rule out Bagent beating out both PJ Walker and Nathan Peterman and taking the Bears’ second-string job.
“I think everything’s open right now. I really do,” Eberflus said. “You never put a ceiling on any player. You’ll see guys, they get into a game and they start rising up.”
Asked specifically if Bagent can beat out Walker and Peterman, Eberflus repeated that he’s open to anything.
“Everything’s open right now,” Eberflus said. “Everybody can look at the roster and see who’s in a competition. Those are all going to be open. If you close your mind off to that, then you might be missing on something. So you have to let it play itself out.”
Fields didn’t play on Saturday and Bagent looked like the Bears’ best quarterback of the three who did, going 9-for-10 with no turnovers and also running for a touchdown. Neither Walker nor Peterman has looked good enough in the preseason to cement the backup job. Bagent is no lock to make the 53-player roster at all, let alone move ahead of both Walker and Peterman to get the No. 2 job, but he has done enough that he’s right in the thick of the Bears’ backup quarterback competition.