Tyson Bagent was still feeling it Saturday afternoon long after he had taken his final snap and long after the Chicago Bears had put their final knee on a 27-3 preseason victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. In front of his locker stall at Soldier Field, Bagent threw on a red throwback Isiah Thomas NBA All-Star jersey and prepared to head into his weekend. Yet the 24-year-old quarterback was still vibing from a performance in which he and the Bears second-team offense found their groove.
“That felt good,” Bagent said. “Got into a nice little rhythm there.” While many fans still were reveling in the latest series of jaw-dropping highlights delivered from rookie Caleb Williams, Bagent actually had been the day’s more productive quarterback.
On three possessions, he led the Bears to 17 points. He misfired on only one of eight passes, totaled 87 yards, threw a pair of touchdowns to Dante Pettis and posted a 151.6 passer rating.
And when asked whether that effort gave him comfort to head into the season without needing additional preseason game action, Bagent pushed back, lobbying instead for more work in the team’s exhibition finale Thurdsay night in Kansas City, Mo. “I want to play the whole freaking game,” he said. Bagent won’t get that chance Thursday but will start against the Chiefs and play deep into the first quarter at a minimum.
That will be the next step in a quarterback journey Bagent believes can take him places no one else is even imagining right .