The Chicago Bears are back to square one after losing star quarterback Caleb Williams last Sunday. During the fourth quarter, Williams suffered a right hamstring injury against the Minnesota Vikings, sidelining him for the remainder of the game. The injury will likely set Williams back three to four weeks, but at least he avoided a major season-ending injury.
Coach Ben Johnson and the Chicago staff face a critical decision for the Bears’ offense over the next month. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent is on concussion protocol and unlikely to play, leaving 15-year veteran Case Keenum next in line.
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On a recent episode of Get Up, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter described Chicago’s situation as a “tough spot” as they select their starting quarterback for Monday night.
“I just was thinking they have Tyson Bagent, who’s very good, and Case Keenum is starting this league; that’s how you want to construct a quarterback room with capable backups, saying that, they’re in a tough spot for this week. Ben Johnson, right away, let’s go back to what he said at the beginning of the week; he said, ‘It is likely that Caleb Williams is going to miss some time.’ Those were his words. We’ll take him at his word and assume that Caleb Williams isn’t going to play on Monday night with him missing some time and not practicing this week,” Schefter said.
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“Well, Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol; it’s unusual for players to be able to clear through protocol in one week. More often than not, they don’t do that, so if he doesn’t, then obviously that would leave Case Keenum as the starting quarterback Monday night. Which seems to be the way it’s tracking now.”
Keenum feels “very prepared” ahead of Monday Night’s primetime showdown as he was the only quarterback on the Bears’ active roster to practice on Wednesday.
“I feel very prepared,” Keenum said via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “It’s what I do every week. It’s what I’ve done for a long time. I’ve backed up a long time in this league. If my name’s called, I’m excited to be out there,” Cronin reported via ESPN.
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“I feel as good mentally as I’ve ever felt,” Keenum said. “Being able to see things before they happen, having a lot of banked reps. So stuff I’ve done in the past, maybe we’re not getting a ton of reps of it this week, but feel good about if I’m playing to be the one to run those plays. I think as far as operationally goes, I think we can do a lot of things pre-snap, try to get the right play when we can, and I think we can do a lot of fun stuff.”
Keenum hasn’t played a snap since Weeks 15 and 16 of the 2023 season, when he started as quarterback for the Houston Texans. As the story unfolds, head coach Ben Johnson showed optimism for his team and welcomed the criticism.
“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,” Johnson said. “So, guys will step up to the plate, guys that maybe we don’t anticipate or expect,” Cronin wrote.
The post ‘They’re in a tough spot’: Adam Schefter reacts to Caleb Williams injury update appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
