The United Football League kicked off its third season with some exciting competition, but one game had the Chicago Bears' attention as it turned out to be a performance of a lifetime.
Dallas Renegades quarterback Austin Reed has spent the last two preseasons with the Bears as the fourth-string quarterback. While Reed has never made the team, he decided to give the UFL a shot and made his first appearance memorable.
The Renegades defeated the Houston Gamblers 36-17, but the story of the game was Reed, who broke a UFL regular season record for passing yards in a game with 376 and threw three touchdowns to zero interceptions. He also completed 65% of his passes with a passer rating of 120.4.
Bears might have to call Austin Reed after the season
Reed had success in the last two preseasons with the Bears, throwing for over 200 yards and one touchdown with zero interceptions, completing about 69% of his passes. The skills have always been there, but Chicago has been deep at quarterback.
Caleb Williams is the starter on the team, but Tyson Bagent has been the backup the last two years, and Case Keenum re-signed for a second year there. The Bears might be left in an interesting situation: Reed could come back as the third string.
Bagent has been involved in trade rumors all offseason for the Bears, as the team is seeking a Day 2 pick in exchange for him. If the Bears decided to move on from Bagent, that would swing the door wide open for Reed to come back and take the third-string job behind Keenum.
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Reed took advantage of his opportunity in the UFL to prove he can play at the NFL level, and now has put himself in the driver's seat for calls to come his way after the season.