When Caleb Williams went down with his hamstring injury in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, the majority of viewers thought it was worst-case scenario. But, when news broke that the Chicago Bears quarterback avoided serious damage, things started to look up.
And then, Case Keenum did that against the Philadelphia Eagles in prime time.
But wait, let's back up. How did we get here? Why wasn't Tyson Bagent on the field?
For anybody just catching up, Bagent suffered a concussion on the last play against the Vikings after being slammed to the ground. He wasn't able to clear concussion protocol until Saturday, and by then, Keenum had already been on the practice field all week and the game plan was built around him.
So, now what?
What happens with the Bears' quarterback situation going forward? What about the backup quarterback this Bears team gave a 2-year, $10 million extension just last year?
Well, for starters, Keenum proved that Ben Johnson cannot go away from him. It's got to be the 38-year-old for the next few games until Williams comes back.
How can you relegate him back to the bench knowing how well he can operate Johnson's offense?
So then, the question becomes, what happens with Bagent? Is he suddenly the third quarterback for 2026?
Bears fans have grown to love Bagent. He's one of the better backups in the league, but this situation has put him in a tough position.
Really, what happens now?
The Bears' stage is nearly set for a Tyson Bagent trade
Fans have talked about it for a while now. Bagent has built up a reputation as somebody who's worth giving a shot as a starter, so long as it's the right situation.
If the Bears can convince Keenum to come back for 2027 (the final year of Bagent's contract) then it would make sense to see if Chicago can get anything in return for Bagent.
The caveat to a Bagent trade must be said, however: a trade only goes down if and when the Bears know Williams can come back healthy, or if they're fully confident he will be able to return in the reported time frame of 3-to-4 weeks.
Already, we've seen some significant quarterback injuries around the league.
Jaxson Dart is now out for the season, and the New York Giants took a flier on trading for J.J. McCarthy.
Jayden Daniels suffered another elbow injury and is in the midst of missing a few weeks. Questions can certainly be asked about his being injury prone. Marcus Mariota has been a fine backup, of course.
Baker Mayfield will now miss a few weeks due to a dislocated thumb, and now it's all on the shoulders of undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels.
Kyler Murray was already knocked out of action after Week 1, though he returned in Week 3.
Tua Tagovailoa was struggling with his health leading up to the season and MIchael Penix Jr. obviously has a history.
Sam Darnold has already missed time.
And then, there are teams who may be able to use a quality quarterback like Bagent who may not have the answer in-house; teams like the Browns (although they're 2-1), the Jets and the Cardinals.
Of course, some teams may just rather look ahead to the 2027 class, and I wouldn't blame them.
But here's the thing...
It's a sad, dark, grim reality that we live in: the first three weeks of injuries are not the last quarterback injuries we will see this year.
Odds are, we will see a few more. That's how this league works. It happens every season.
So, would the Bears entertain trading Bagent right now? Maybe, maybe not. They may not have the perfect suitor just yet.
Read more: Grading Case Keenum's incredible Bears starting debut against Eagles
But, give it a week or two, and the Bears could have plenty of power when it comes to finding a Bagent suitor and a nice return on draft capital.
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