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With the Bears trailing 31-7, Keenum was subbed in for Tyson Bagent for the fourth quarter. He provided more passing production in one quarter than Bagent did in three, but the Packers were obviously sitting back a bit in coverage. Keenum also equalled Bagent’s turnover total, as he lost a fumble in addition to his pick. Keenum was livelier than Bagent, but hardly better. With Caleb Williams appearing likely to return from his hamstring injury in Week 6 against the Falcons, this is hopefully the last we hear of the Bears’ backup situation for the foreseeable future. If it’s not, we would have to assume it’s now “advantage Keenum.”

It’s worth noting that Brad Biggs quotes Johnson as saying “We’ll have a discussion as a coaching staff and we’ll see where we need to go from here ... But I said it last week, and I’ll say it again, there was a reason why Tyson [Bagent] ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback” in the post-game scrum. It seems wild that a backup quarterback could play as well as Case Keenum did on Monday Night and not start in Week 4 on account of another backup quarterback, but it does feel like the winds are leaning there as things stand on Tuesday.

Head coach Ben Johnson was in his bag from the opening series, trusting Keenum to take to the air on the team’s first two plays from scrimmage. That set the tone for the remainder of the game as the Bears dominated time of possession, running 69 offensive plays to the 47 of the Eagles. Keenum was not perfect by any stretch, with no fewer than three attempts that placed the ball in immediate danger. He would escape with a clean sheet in the turnover department while exceeding expectations within the structure of Johnson’s offense, routinely delivering the football on time and where it needed to go. His counting stats were padded slightly by a 41-yard touchdown to Kalif Raymond against busted coverage in the third quarter and a fourth quarter rushing plunge from one yard out, but he did enough to guide the Bears to a 2-1 record ahead of a Week 4 meeting with the Jets. It remains unclear if Keenum will draw another start under center now that Tyson Bagent will have a full week of preparation. Neither would be an exciting fantasy option against Aaron Glenn’s New York defense.

Tyson Bagent has not been cleared to practice while he works his way through the league’s concussion protocol. Caleb Williams (hamstring) is unlikely to practice this week, let alone play. That leaves just Keenum at quarterback on the active roster. The Bears have an extra day to get healthy because they play on Monday night, but all signs point to Keenum drawing the start. It will be hard to get any Chicago pass-catcher in fantasy lineups with Keenum under center.

Keenum, now 38, is basically a player-coach at this point. Tyson Bagent took backup snaps for the Bears last year and — barring an unlikely trade — Keenum will likely be behind Bagent again in 2026.

It’s a quiet list for a road-tripping Bears squad on a short week coming off a rough Monday evening home loss.

The injury could cost Keenum his shot at earning the Bears’ No. 2 quarterback job. He currently sits behind fellow backup QB Tyson Bagent, and backup snaps will be harder to come by this weekend, with the starters slated to get some work early on against the Bills. Details on Keenum’s leg injury, suffered yesterday, have not yet been released. He spent the 2024 season on injured reserve with a foot injury.

The veteran quarterback provides a viable backup to second-year starter Caleb Williams in addition to the experience to serve as a mentor. Keenum missed the entirety of the 2024 season after being placed on injured reserve in late August but should be near full health heading into the NFL Draft.