LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Tyson Bagent is grateful that over the course of one year he’s gone from NFL roster longshot to no-doubt backup quarterback for the Bears. He thinks about it every day. Bagent isn’t satisfied, though. He’s an extremely competitive guy with major aspirations, but the extent of his aspirations are a private matter.
“I can’t tell y’all that,” Bagent said. “Y’all would think I’m crazy.
“I’ve got ridiculous, unbelievable aspirations that go far deeper than what I’ve been able to do so far. So I’ll sum it up like that. I’m just excited to continue to work at it and continue to get better at my craft.”
It’s not crazy for anyone to set high standards for themselves, and it’s especially not crazy for football players, no matter their pedigree.
Bagent played D-II ball at Shepherd University, where he threw an NCAA-record 159 touchdown passes. His 17,034 yards are the third most in college football history. Despite the big numbers, Bagent went undrafted in 2023. When he signed with the Bears he was buried on the depth chart behind P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman in the competition for the backup QB job.
It didn’t take long for Bagent to show he was worthy of more than a cursory glance at camp. After a few preseason appearances it became clear that he wasn’t just deserving of a roster spot, he was deserving of the No. 2 QB job.
“The only thing I hope every time I'm out there is that everybody can see that I have full control of everything going on, I know where my answers are,” Bagent said. “I can just play at that kind of level.”
Chicago Bears
But before Bagent can show people that he’s capable of playing at a high level, he needs to set high expectations for himself– and he needs to believe those expectations are reasonable, no matter if they sound crazy to an outsider.
“I think it puts myself in a different mental space and I think it puts those around me in a different mental space, regarding how they view me. I just don’t wanna be somebody who people look at and think are just grateful that he just made the team. Or, he’s a fringe guy. I don’t want to be looked at (like) that. I don’t think that’s who I am. It just kinda puts me in the headspace of a limitless mindset and not a limited mindset.”
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According to Yahoo!, Bagent became just the fourth D-II quarterback to start an NFL game since 2002, when the NFL started tracking snap counts. He joined Jon Kitna, Keith Null and Todd Bouman. Kitna went on to win 50 games, but Bouman only won once. Null went 0-4 in his pro career. With two wins last season, Bagent has already overcome astronomical odds and added his name to an extremely short list.
From a big picture view, Bagent accomplished crazy things as a rookie. Who’s to say he can’t accomplish something a little crazier down the road?
