Everything is working against Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent as he heads into his first start as an undrafted rookie on a floundering team.
But none of that seems to bother him.
Bagent, a 23-year-old from Division II Shepherd University, was poised and energetic as he commanded the room while taking Justin Fields’ spot for the weekly news conference with the starting quarterback Wednesday.
While everyone has marveled at his rise from the tiny town of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and a small college, Bagent isn’t surprised to get his chance at being an NFL starter.
“Oddly, I always thought it was gonna happen,” he said. “Me and my dad really were the only ones that thought that this was gonna happen. After that, it was just figuring out how I could outwork everybody that maybe had more [resources] than I did.”
He’ll ride that confidence into a game against the Raiders on Sunday. They’re an average opponent at this level, but taking them on at Soldier Field presents a far more difficult challenge than preseason games or any game he played at Shepherd.
As Fields recovers from a dislocated thumb that’s sure to keep him out this week and could cause an extended absence, this is Bagent’s show. And he has been acting like it.
He was certain he was ready for the job, and there were signs of that amid a rough debut when he came in for Fields in the third quarter last week against the Vikings. He made some strong throws, threw an ugly interception and lost a fumble that turned into a scoop-and-score touchdown, but he completed 10 of 14 passes for 78 yards.
He didn’t flinch when told to warm up. He immediately reassured the coaches that they didn’t need to cut down the game plan for him, saying, “I know the whole call sheet, so don’t be afraid to do your thing, call your plays. Don’t hinder the offense just because I’m going in there. I’ve prepared for this all week.”
That preparation has been essential to Bagent’s climb. He wouldn’t be so confident if he didn’t have such a thorough grasp of the offense.
“You start to see guys who are really good that don’t make it because they don’t know where they’re going,” Bagent said. “If you’re not the fastest guy and you’re not the best athlete, as long as you know where you’re going and know what everybody’s doing, you’re usually going to [beat] guys that might be a little bit better than you physically.”
Between that and his arm strength, the Bears have been imagining this possibility since they first saw him at Shepherd last season and pro scouting director Jeff King came back “raving about this guy whose dad was a pro arm wrestler,” according to assistant general manger Ian Cunningham.
That last part is true, and you’ll likely hear about it plenty on the Fox broadcast. Travis “The Beast” Bagent was the World Armwrestling League left-hand champion in 2015. Fox also might mention that Tyson Bagent’s backup plan, if he didn’t make the NFL, was “to basically just CrossFit my life away” and become a teacher.
The Bears stayed on Bagent, and he ended up on offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s team at the Senior Bowl. They signed him minutes after the draft, he thrived in spring practices and he outplayed veteran P.J. Walker in training camp to make the roster. Bagent began the season as the No. 3 quarterback before overtaking another veteran, Nathan Peterman, in Week 4.
Peterman will be the backup Sunday, and the Bears could add Trace McSorley from the practice squad to be their emergency third quarterback.
Stepping in unexpectedly is difficult for a rookie quarterback even in an otherwise ideal situation, and the Bears’ circumstances are far from ideal. Bagent got a taste of that against the Vikings, particularly when he backpedaled 18 yards before throwing off his back foot for a five-yard completion to Tyler Scott.
The Bears are especially concerned with Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who has 5œ sacks in six games, and coach Matt Eberflus said, “If we’re doing some different things for their best pass rusher, we’re getting the ball out quick.”
No problem, Bagent said.
“This offense is very similar to what I operated in college,” he said. “The more time you get the ball out on time, especially in the quick game, the more tired the D-line gets.”
It sounds simple enough, but it never is. The Bears’ offensive line is reeling and reshuffling, and the defense is giving up close to 30 points per game. Fields hasn’t been able to navigate those problems the last three seasons, so the odds are against Bagent.
Not that it bothers him.
“I’ve pretty much beat every odd that there was for me, so I’ve got nothing to lose,” he said. “I’m going to go out there and fight with these guys to the death and try to stack up as many wins as I can until we get Justin back.”
