Last preseason, after praise from general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson, the Chicago Bears showed how much they valued Tyson Bagent as Caleb Williams' backup by giving him a two-year contract extension.
Before the NFL Combine in February, a report surfaced suggesting the Arizona Cardinals had interest in trading for Bagent. At the Combine, Poles acknowledged calls had come while Johnson made his thoughts about trading his well-regarded No. 2 signal caller crystal clear.
Trade chatter around Bagent has faded since free agency started, but it's also unlikely to completely go away before next season starts. The Bears are, of course, not going to just give him away, but they also have to have a plan to replace him if they do seriously entertain moving him.
Tyson Bagent addresses the trade chatter that has been around him
Bagent joined Mark Carman and Greg Braggs on Wednesday's edition of the CHGO Bears podcast. Carman started the conversation by asking Bagent if he was caught off-guard by the trade talk around him, which really came out of nowhere.
"You (referring to Carman), along with a couple other people informed me, during my family vacation time in Miami, of all the stuff that was going on", Bagent said.
"I would say, all that noise, during the Combine, was not necessarily expected. But...as far as this NFL thing has been, you can't expect...everything's unexpected."
"It was nice to hear my bosses talk of me that way. But as far as my thoughts behind it, the only thing I need to do is stay ready - and for right now it seems to be - for me to be the best quarterback for the Bears for another season."
After Johnson's pointed comments about him at the Combine, which he had presumably seen before, were replayed for him, Bagent affirmed that the affinity goes both ways in equal measure.
"Nobody loves Ben Johnson more than Tyson Bagent. I'll lay that on the line, right now. I appreciate him, and what he's done, and what I'm positive he'll continue to do at the helm of the Bears."
As teams have filled in their quarterback depth charts in recent weeks, the list of teams that could realistically trade for Bagent has naturally shortened. Any remaining interest in him surely exceeds the Bears' desire to trade him, and that's going to be the case until further notice.
But it would also be foolish for the Bears to close the door on trading Bagent this offseason, and it's fair to assume Poles and Johnson had both told him as much.
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So Bagent is controlling what he can control, ready to remain the Bears' No. 2 quarterback while also being aware that could change in the coming months.