(Audacy) Bears rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent has quickly moved up the ranks in Chicago. After Bagent played four years for the Division-II Shepherd Rams, the Bears signed him as an undrafted free agent. He was behind both Justin Fields and Nathan Peterman on the depth chart as the regular season opened but moved up to the backup role before Week 4.
Bagent has now made two starts for the Bears with Fields sidelined by a right thumb injury, and while he may be a great story, the coverage around him may be a bit much, as 670 The Score host Danny Parkins said on the Audacy original podcast 1st & Pod. Parkins sounded off on NBC's coverage of Bagent on Sunday Night Football as the Bagent-led Bears lost 30-13 to the Chargers.
“Until the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, which was the first time that Cris Collinsworth even entertained the possibility that Justin Fields could be A) good or B) the quarterback for the Bears next year – even though I don’t think that either of those things is an extreme likelihood at this points – it honestly felt like a 56-minute infomercial for Tyson Bagent,” Parkins said (3:35 in player above). “Saying that Justin Fields should study Tyson Bagent and could learn from Tyson Bagent, ‘This is how the offense is supposed to work.’”
Parkins speculated that the praise came from inside the building, as it usually does.
“You know how this works,” he said. “These broadcasters talk to coaches and you combine that with Adam Schefter earlier (Sunday) saying, ‘No one around the Bears was surprised about Tyson Bagent. In fact, one player in training camp said that they thought they had the next Brock Purdy on their hands.’ It felt like the Tyson Bagent PR machine from inside Halas Hall was out in full force.”
While Bagent has an interesting backstory, that doesn’t mean he’s the answer under center.
“Listen, Tyson Bagent is an unbelievable story. I get why Sunday Night Football did what they did,” Parkins said. “It’s a good human interest story, I get it. He gets the ball out quick. He’s smart. He’s got a lot of flight miles. He profiles out to be a decent backup quarterback.
“But you saw it. The Chargers came in as the worst pass defense in the NFL and they could’ve easily had four interceptions against this guy. They scored seven points when the game was even relatively competitive. So he’s very limited in his upside.”
Bagent was 25-of-37 for 232 yards and two interceptions while posting a 62.0 passer rating Sunday. He also ran for his second career touchdown. His story and profile could land him a long career in the NFL, probably just not as a starter.
“He could have an eight-, 10-year career as a backup in the NFL and make millions of dollars,” Parkins said. “But the Bears suck and Tyson Bagent is not the savior for whatever ails them, and I can’t wait for Justin Fields to come back, and I hope it’s next week against the Saints.”