The Bears signed backup quarterback Tyson Bagent to a two-year, $10 million contract extension on Wednesday afternoon. The deal keeps the former Division II star in Chicago through the 2027 season as a high-end QB2 behind second-year signal caller Caleb Williams.
Bagent went undrafted out of Shepard in 2023 and signed with the Bears as a UDFA. After a solid preseason, he made the 53-man roster out of camp, quickly shot up the depth chart, and was even sprung into action as a rookie after Justin Fields went down with a thumb injury. Bagent went 2-2 in four starts while tallying five total touchdowns. He's since served as the team's primary backup, and will remain so under new head coach Ben Johnson.
It's not the 25-year-old's remarkable journey from a small city in West Virginia to the bright lights of Chicago that makes his $10 million payday so rare, however. According to The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, Bagent is the first quarterback since Jay Cutler to sign an extension with the Bears.
That was over 10 years ago, in January of 2014.
Since then? Man, has Chi Town's football team had some brutal luck under center. They've started 14 (!) quarterbacks in Cutler, Jimmy Clausen, Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer, Mitchell Trubisky, Mike Glennon, Chase Daniel, Nick Foles, Justin Fields, Andy Dalton, Trevor Siemian, Nathan Peterman, Fields, Bagent, and Williams—none of which eclipsed 4,000 yards—and have made it to the postseason just twice.
Now, with a QB room manned by the former No. 1 overall pick in Williams and the former DII star in Bagent, the Windy City will hopefully turn its luck around sooner rather than later.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shocking Stat Reveals Just How Rare Tyson Bagent's Contract Extension With Bears Is.
