First-overall pick Caleb Williams won’t be playing in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday for the Chicago Bears — a decision that is most common for any starting quarterback in the NFL.
While Williams’ absence comes as no surprise, who are his backups, and what will the Bears’ quarterback room look like in 2024? Today, we break that all down.
Who Will Be Caleb Williams’ Backup on the Bears’ 2024 QB Depth Chart?
Chicago has made some quick transformations to its offense in the last few months with the additions of D’Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze. The biggest change is arguably at quarterback, with Williams replacing Justin Fields as the starter.
Who backs up Williams is a little more of a question, though. Tyson Bagent played well in limited time backing up Fields in 2023 and even won a couple of starts.
Even Brett Rypien has had starting experience in his short career.
While the Bears do not have an older quarterback backing up the current rookie star as most other franchises do, Chicago is in a better position to play well right away with the Heisman Trophy winner than other teams with rookie passers.
It’s still important to know who is backing up Williams and getting the start in the preseason this year.
Getting To Know Tyson Bagent
Like all three backup quarterbacks on this list, Bagent is an undrafted free agent. Unlike some of the other players on the roster, he has starting experience from the 2022 season.
Bagent went 2-2 as a starter for the Bears after a record-breaking career with Shepherd University — a Division II athletics program. He threw three touchdowns to six interceptions for Chicago. In wins against the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, Bagent recorded one touchdown and no picks while completing an average of 65% of his passes.
READ MORE: The Story of Tyson Bagent
In college, Bagent set the college football record for career touchdown passes across all NCAA divisions (159 TDs) during Shepherd’s 48–13 win over IUP during their quarterfinal game. They reached the semifinals of the Division II playoffs but lost to the Colorado Mines Orediggers.
As Bagent continues to develop, the Bears should feel confident in how the D-II star looked in his rookie campaign. He’ll get the start in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game and appears to be the front-runner for the immediate backup job.
Getting To Know Brett Rypien
Outside of Bagent, Rypien is arguably the only other safe player on the roster at the quarterback position for Chicago. After going undrafted in 2019, Rypien has appeared in 10 games throughout his career and even made four starts, going 2-2 in the process.
In 2023, Rypien made one start with the Los Angeles Rams and went 13-of-28 passing for 130 yards and an interception.
The nephew of NFL MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, the young Brett threw 90 career touchdowns for Boise State from 2015-2018. He helped the Broncos win two bowl games, the Las Vegas Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl.
Rypien has struggled to find consistency in the NFL, but he’s a player who could compete for the backup quarterback spot in Chicago.
Getting To Know Austin Reed
Reed is an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky where he threw for a combined 71 touchdowns in two years out of the transfer portal from Western Florida. After two seasons leading the Hilltoppers, Reed helped wide receiver Malachi Corley get drafted in the third round by the New York Jets.
SEE MORE: Chicago Bears Depth Chart
Reed also helped Western Kentucky to two straight bowl wins against Old Dominion and South Alabama. While projected as a project of sorts, Reed has had plenty of success in college to this point and could be an enticing prospect for Chicago.