Last year Bryce Young was the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft for the Carolina Panthers. The number two pick overall by the Houston Texans, CJ Stroud played like the best quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft. Young was not impressive in his rookie season for the Panthers. The number 4 overall pick, Anthony Richardson, for the Indianapolis Colts only played 4 games due to an injury. The Bears think they have the best quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft with Caleb Williams as most of the football world thinks the Chicago selection number one was a no brainer. A guarantee? Never any guarantees in the NFL with the chosen ones. Look at Young for the Panthers. The Bears have constructed a powerful offense with all the bells and whistles for Williams. They have surrounded him with secret service protection with their offensive line selection.

You bet the Bears General manager is thinking like Hannibal Smith of the A-Team liking a plan that comes together. What if the grand scheme fails? This is the Bears we are talking about. The last time someone saw a quarterback in the Windy City was watching the 1940’s Bears with Sid Luckman. If Williams falters, who gets the keys to the Bears shiny new offense? The choices may not be the brightest plan in the book.

The Bears played the Texans in the first pre-season action of the year in the Hall of Fame game. The Bears get an extra pre-season contest this season playing their guys at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton. Caleb Williams did not see any action. The cocky quarterback from USC played the part of a veteran number one guy on the sidelines in street clothes like he’s been in the NFL for years. The Bears have the extra game so Williams can still get the snaps he needs to ready for the season. Last Thursday it was Brett Rypien that stood out as he may fall number three in the pecking order of the Bears depth chart at QB. With Tyson Bagent, number two, who we will get too. Rypien was magnificent as he was ripping the ball all over the field completing 11-15 passes, 166 yards, with 3 touchdown passes. If you are scoring at home that is a 148.9 QB rating for the 28 year old. Rypien was signed because he has played for the Bears new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and Brett knows his offense. Rypien has played 4 seasons in the NFL with the Broncos and the Rams. Last year he started one game for the Rams and lost. In 4 seasons Rypien has played in ten NFL games making 4 starts where he is 2-2. He has completed 58.3% of his passes and tallied up 950 passing yards. He has thrown 4 touchdown passes compared to 9 interceptions… yikes. Could Brett be taking the next step like his uncle Mark?

Mark Rypien played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played 104 regular season games and had a winning record as a starter of 47-31. He had some good seasons with some clunker ones. He will be remembered for helping the Redskins beat up on the Bills in the Superbowl XXVI in 1991. Rypien was MVP during that big game on the biggest stage of his entire career. Uncle Mark only completed 56.1% of his passes and tallied up 18,473 passing yards while throwing 115 touchdown passes compared to 88 interceptions. He was a 2x Pro-bowler and many people would want that type of career.

Do the Bears or anyone else trust the 24 year old Tyson Bagent as a guy who can take control of the Bears offense if Caleb Williams has any hiccups? Bagent came from Shepard College in West Virginia which is a division II school. Bagent proved last year filling in for the injured Justin Fields he can play QB in the NFL. Bagent had 4 starts last season in his rookie year and won 2 games. He completed 65.7% of his passes in 5 total games. He tallied 859 passing yards, threw 3 touchdown passes, and had 6 interceptions. In year two with the Bears, he will have to learn another new offense. Can Bagent take the keys to the Bears offense and be successful? How long until opposing defenses catch up to him? Once you have film which he does, they might know his weakness and exploit that. Can a young QB like Bagent adjust on the fly?

The Bears had a hard time getting out of the gates last year as it took the defense until mid-season to start gelling. How long will it take Caleb Williams to gel with this offense? Brett Rypien played the Texans scrubs last Thursday as they sat many of their starters like the Bears did. So do you trust a guy like Rypien taking the controls of this team if Williams falters? He may just be a journeyman QB playing third fiddle or stashed on some team’s practice squad going team to team waiting for his next chance. Then Bagent could be a guy that regresses in his second year in the NFL. Do the Bears try to land a guy like Ryan Tannehill who still available on the free agent market. A guy like Tannehill has a track record as a starter and could do well in offense with all these bells and whistles and protection. You have to think teams will cut some interesting names that may be a quarterback worth signing instead of what the Bears have already. The Colts season was saved by Gardner Minshew last year when Anthony Richardson was done for the year. The Colts were in the playoff hunt until they blew their chances late in the game on the last game of the season. We know Caleb Williams thinks he’s already slated for rookie of the year and will guide this Bears team to the playoffs in year one. Just in case of emergency, the Bears may need something else behind Williams or the results will be the same ole Bears. Remember Joe Flacco leading the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs last season. How many QB’s did Cleveland use before signing Flacco? I like Bagent’s story. I like to see Brett be like his uncle or better. You have to be realistic because the Bears have a flaw in depth behind their rookie.