Bears training camp has been underway for just over a week, and a lot of things have already happened. The Hard Knocks crew is capturing everything, giving fans an exciting behind-the-scenes look at Halas Hall, both on and off the field. On Friday afternoon, the Bears released their first unofficial depth chart for the 2024 season. While most of it is as expected, there are a few notable points to keep an eye on.
Tyson Bagent hasn’t locked in the QB2 role.
This is perhaps the biggest surprise on the depth chart. Although Bagent is listed behind Williams, there is an “or” next to his name, and Brett Rypien is also competing for the QB2 role despite being listed after Bagent. The Bears seem to have included that “or” intentionally to spark debate and perhaps increase competition at certain positions. While Bagent stepped in last year and went 2-2 in place of an injured Justin Fields, his performance had many flaws. The backup quarterback spot is very important, and it doesn’t help that Bagent had his worst practice so far on Friday morning, the first day with pads on.
Could the Bears move on from the second-year undrafted QB? The possibility exists, but it would likely take a complete meltdown for Bagent to lose his QB2 status behind Caleb Williams.
RB2 is up for grabs.
Another notable position on the depth chart was running back. D’Andre Swift was listed as RB1, which was expected. However, there was some intrigue further down: Khalil Herbert was placed at RB2, while Roschon Johnson was RB3. It appears there is a competition between Herbert and Johnson for the RB2 spot.
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Specialists battle.
The only other position group with some uncertainty, indicated by an additional “or” between players, was kick and punt returner. Velus Jones Jr. and DeAndre Carter are competing for these spots. Velus is listed as the primary kick returner with Carter as his backup, while Carter is listed as the primary punt returner with Velus as his backup. This competition will be an interesting battle to watch as camp progresses.
I remember watching Fields coming back from his injury and snubbing Bagent like he was a star. I mean Bagent knew the playbook and knew how to audible. It’s good that Caleb doesn’t appear to have that attitude. This year is like a fresh breath of air with a new QB and OC.
No one has been handed anything except at QB1. There the Bears have set up Caleb Williams with sky-high expectations.
Well sally…you say “not good news”. I say untrue. Means the job is up for competition. Nobody’s being handed anything. The way it should be.
Not good news! Hopefully news just hyped to promote greater competition in the midst of uncertainty.