Nobody saw Tyson Bagent coming. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Good quarterbacks don’t come from Division II schools, at least not enough to believe it’s possible. The last one to do so was Kurt Warner, and that was almost 30 years ago. Quarterback evaluation has changed a lot since then. Teams don’t miss like that anymore. Except apparently, they do. Bagent had zero scholarship offers from big schools coming out of high school despite two state championships. Then he set almost every passing record at Shepherd, won two Division II equivalents of the Heisman, and still went undrafted. The Chicago Bears didn’t care. They wanted him anyway.
Bagent then proceeded to have a strong training camp, showing rapid improvement. He coupled that with an excellent showing in the preseason. It was enough to convince GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus that the rookie deserved to be on the main roster, ousting veteran P.J. Walker. It seems they weren’t the only ones enamored with Bagent. According to Adam Schefter, at least one Bears player openly stated in camp that Chicago may have found their own version of Brock Purdy.
The parallels between Tyson Bagent and Purdy are notable.
Purdy was the last pick of the draft in 2022. That is pretty much identical to being an undrafted free agent. He played a lot of snaps in college, so he had experience. Unforeseen injuries to the starting quarterback in San Francisco enabled Purdy to step in. He played well almost immediately and helped guide the 49ers to the NFC championship. While it’s unlikely the Bears do the same, it’s apparent Bagent is showcasing a similar timeline. He looked sharp in his first start, completing most of his passes, not turning the ball over, and guiding the offense to 24 points.
The Bears don’t need him to be Superman. They merely need him to be efficient and make some good throws to keep the chains moving. He proved he can do that. Couple that with near-limitless swagger and a fiery leadership style, and it’s easy to see why teammates love him. It is too early to say Tyson Bagent is destined to be another Purdy, Warner, or Tom Brady. It is still Justin Fields’ team. However, minds could start changing if the rookie pulls off a stunning upset on Sunday night against the Chargers.
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Lol….from the story, ” Bagent went undrafted but Bears didn’t care, they wanted him anyway”. Why isn’t that surprising…….