Back in 2023, the Bears rolled the dice on Tyson Bagent, the kid out of Shepherd, to back up Justin Fields. He flashed some promise in his rookie season. The QB got into five games, started four of them (went 2-2), and threw for 859 yards with three touchdowns. Fast forward—year 2 came and went with Caleb Williams taking over the spotlight, so Bagent didn’t see much action.

But here’s the thing: the Bears under Ben Johnson’s command clearly trust him. Why? Well, on Wednesday, August 20, the Bears signed the 25-year-old quarterback on a two-year contract extension. The contract terms include a $10 million deal that can be worth up to $16 million if we count incentives. ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on his social media handle.

“Bears are signing quarterback Tyson Bagent to a two-year contract extension worth $10 million that can be worth up to $16 million with incentives, a source confirms to ESPN,” Schefter reported on his Instagram handle. With that being said, Bagent will solidify his role and serve as Williams’ backup entering the 2025 season. The Bears are set to keep him through the 2027 season.

“I’ve really been blown away by his approach from the spring to the start of camp to where we are now,” Johnson said of Bagent, per The Athletic. “He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it and getting it done.” The quarterback showed flashes in the Bears’ preseason showdown against the Bills recently. The 25-year-old completed 13-of-22 passes for 196 yards, with a single touchdown under his belt.

Looking beyond individual performance, the move also signals Chicago’s emphasis on maintaining depth across the quarterback room. “One of the worst things that can happen to you in a season is when you see your starter go down and you don’t feel confident with the guy behind him,” the Bears’ GM, Ryan Poles, told The Athletic. “And everybody in this organization believes in that kid, where if something were to happen, he could take the reins and run with them.” The logic tracks.

Caleb Williams is fit and healthy to start in his second year. But should unexpected circumstances unfold in Chicago, Johnson and Poles would want to go ahead confidently with their backup. And as it turned out, the Bears are undoubtedly confident with Bagent. “…We wanted to reward him for that and everything he stands for. He has a really cool way about him that makes football fun, that makes preparing fun. He’s just a very unique individual who we want here for a long period of time,” Poles added.

That said, Tyson Bagent will serve as Caleb Williams’ backup entering the 2025 season. Meanwhile, the starting quarterback is currently enduring Johnson’s tough love, and let’s just say, the HC has his own reasons behind his tough coaching.

Ben Johnson came up with a blunt response to Caleb Williams’ statement

When Ben Johnson joined the Bears as their next head coach, he straight-up claimed that Caleb Williams was one of the reasons he wanted to coach the Chicago team. And ever since he arrived in Chicago, the HC has laid out his plan for the second-year quarterback. But when asked, Williams expressed Johnson’s coaching differently. “He’s been tough on me,” Williams said. “He’s been hard on me, and it’s been great.”

And considering a rocky rookie season, Johnson’s tough coaching just makes sense. And the results showed up. During the preseason game against the Bills, Williams completed 6-of-10 passes for 107 yards, one touchdown, and a 130.0 passer rating. Highlight of the game? It was when he connected with Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard touchdown. Following the game, Ben Johnson recently stopped by the Up & Adams Show, where he explained why he’s been tough on Williams.

“I think that’s the natural course of coaching,” he said when asked how he would describe Williams’ statement. “You know, you gotta tell guys when it’s good. You gotta tell them when it’s bad. We’ve had a healthy back and forth, and he’s learning. He’s grown. He’s a young player. But I think when you’re young, you want to be coached hard because that’s going to pull out the best in you, and he’s been that way. That’s been his approach. He’s been very receptive, very coachable, and we see him getting better every day.”

Caleb Williams will start his second season to achieve a couple of targets. For starters, he has claimed that he wants to break the Bears’ single-season passing record with 4,000 yards. And second, Ben Johnson wants him to complete 70% of the passes. Will he? Won’t he? That we’ll see after the season. But one thing’s certain: with Johnson’s tough coaching, the quarterback can achieve both targets.