Bears quarterback Case Keenum (11) leads his teammates onto the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
Bears quarterback Case Keenum (11) leads his teammates onto the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Bears’ third-string quarterback Case Keenum had a monster game in the 27-7 win over the Eagles on Monday, but coach Ben Johnson left things up in the air as far as who will start Sunday against the Jets.
It remains highly unlikely that starter Caleb Williams will be back from his hamstring injury by then, leaving Johnson to decide between Keenum and No. 2 quarterback Tyson Bagent.
That was an easy call leading up to the Eagles game, Johnson said, because Keenum was convincing in practice and Bagent didn’t clear the NFL’s concussion protocol until Sunday. He hinted, however, that Bagent is very much in consideration against the Jets.
“We’ll have a discussion as a coaching staff and we’ll see where we need to go from here,” Johnson said. “There was a reason why Tyson ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback.”
That could be merely a misdirection considering Johnson used a similar line Saturday even though he said later he was fairly set on starting Keenum by that point.
Neither Keenum nor Bagent had started since 2023, and at 38, Keenum’s main role on the Bears the last two seasons has been to mentor Williams and Bagent.
He was excellent, though, against the Eagles. Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns for a 110.8 passer rating, plus a touchdown on quarterback sneak at the goal line.