Caleb Williams struggled in his rookie season. Heading into his second season, the Chicago Bears brought in former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the team’s new head coach in order to help Williams reach his full potential.
Since arriving in Chicago, Johnson has been holding Williams to the highest of standards and has been candid with the media about Williams struggling to meet his expected marks.
“HC Johnson on Caleb Williams not hitting 70% completion rate in practice: ‘We’ve been underneath that bar. We’re learning, we’re growing. Early on, we were probably 55%. It’s gotten better as camp has gone on, but we haven’t hit that threshold as often as we would like,'” Underdog NFL reported last week.
With Williams struggling, the Bears have changed course on their plans for the quarterback room, electing to extend Tyler Bagent, giving the franchise added insurance at the position moving forward, should Williams continue to struggle.
“The #Bears are signing QB Tyson Bagent to a two-year, $10M contract extension with a max value of $16M with incentives, his reps at Milk and Honey Sports and Key Player Management tell The Insiders,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Wednesday.
Fans reacted to the extension on social media.
“Great move. Bagent is one of the better backups in the league with starter potential. If the worst case scenario plays out and Caleb gets hurt, there’s no doubt in my mind that Tyson is fully capable of leading this offense and keeping the Bears afloat,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“He’s better than Caleb the bust,” someone else added.
“Smart move by Ryan Poles and co. Keeping a great backup QB under team control with a reasonable contract is a good business move,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see if this move spurs Williams into gear.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.