The Chicago Bears already announced that Caleb Williams be the starting quarterback in week one of the 2024 season. This is not a shock when you look at the depth behind him. However, the depth behind him may end up being the competition to watch this summer.
Could the Chicago Bears' backup quarterback spot be open for competition?
Most fans would say that Tyson Bagent has locked down the backup job. He held things down when Justin Fields was injured, and he is young with a cost-effective salary. However, what he did was under Luke Getsy, who is a new offensive coordinator.
When you break it down, Bagent is actually the only quarterback who is not here because Waldron was in the room when it happened.
Brett Rypien is older but has played with the Seattle Seahawks. He was working with Waldron last year. When you break it down, Bagent has just 143 pass attempts in his career while Rypien is at 168. The sample was fine for Bagent, but it was small, and it was in a different offense. If Bagent struggles to pick up the new system, Waldron would easily give Rypien the ball.
More than that, the Bears also signed Austin Reed as a UDFA rookie. How a rookie UDFA climbs the depth chart to be a backup with Rypien and Bagent does not seem crazy when you consider Bagent beat out PJ Walker and Nathan Peterman last year.
Reed was the UDFA picked out by Waldron, Bagent was the UDFA picked out by Getsy. It is more likely than not that Bagent holds down the backup job, but there is not any chatter about the idea that he could be unseated by the two quarterbacks brought in this offseason. That could easily be the case. It is something to watch for in training camp.