The Chicago Bears have not had a franchise quarterback since the 1940’s when Sid Luckman was the general behind center. The Bears for decades were like the present day Cleveland Browns, with a never-ending list of dead beats behind center. It was like every Christmas delivered a lump of coal in the Bears fans’ stockings as every season you would witness them marching out the next bum to turn into a bust. Everybody thought the Bears’ number 1 selection in the 2024 NFL draft would turn to stone when they drafted Caleb Williams from USC. Most experts thought Williams would be the best choice and the Bears could not do what they did in the 2017 NFL draft & gamble on the likes of another Mitch Trubisky. The guarantee that year by the experts was Deshaun Watson. In Chicago all massage therapists dodge a bullet that the Bears selected Mitch over the sexual predator. In 2017 Patrick Mahomes turned out to be golden for the Chiefs. Williams this season in his second year has shown he can be the face of this Bears franchise for the next decade and beyond. In 2023, the Bears signed Tyson Bagent as he was an undrafted free agent. In three seasons he has a 2-2 record as a starter. The Bears front office has been fielding calls about acquiring Bagent, who is the number two guy on the Chicago totem pole. Suddenly anything the Bears touch at quarterback is starting to turn into gold. Last weekend more evidence became available about the Bears being the QB whisperer. It was another quarterback the Bears had at their camp the last two seasons who lit up the UFL (United Football League) in his first start the opening weekend of the spring gridiron. Some people may remember Austin Reed who played a part in HBO’s Hard Knocks when they did the Bears series. It was Reed who signed with the Dallas Renegades after the Bears let him go. On Saturday he sliced and diced the Houston Gamblers defense while setting new records in the UFL as a quarterback.

Austin Reed is 26 years of age. In college he was part of three football programs: SIU, West Florida, and Western Kentucky. It was Western Kentucky where Reed thrived as he had 40 touchdown passes in 2022. In 2023 he threw 31 touchdown passes. In both seasons he had the same amount of interceptions thrown, with 11 each season. In 2024 Reed signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent. He had his 15 minutes on Hard Knocks. He made the Bears practice squad in ’24. In 2025 he played in some preseason games & then landed his walking papers. The Bears wanted veteran quarterback Case Keenum on their roster to help mentor Caleb Williams. Then Tyson Bagent was the number two QB. The Bears decided they did not need Reed on their practice squad either. As an athlete you can practice until the cows come home every day. Every athlete needs a game to improve their craft. In those NFL preseason games, Reed played very well for the Bears. He tallied up 230 passing yards with a touchdown pass and came away with a 99.3 passing rating. Reed decided to take his talents to the UFL. The Dallas Renegades have one of the better spring veteran quarterbacks in the league. His name is Luis Perez and he is the king of the spring fling. He even has written a book about it. Perez has also guided these Renegades to championship before the merger when this franchise was back in the XFL. Reed beat out Perez for the starting job this spring for Dallas. In his first UFL game, the Renegades blew up the Houston Gamblers with a score of 36-17. Reed threw three touchdown passes in his debut along with 370 passing yards.

These spring football leagues like the UFL really don’t generate talented quarterbacks that take over the starting job in the NFL. The UFL has done well with kickers and special team players. The 49ers had former Birmingham Stallion Adrian Martinez as a 3rd string quarterback for them last season. The Arena League produced a Hall of Famer in Kurt Warner. It can happen. I always believe when a athlete leaves the city of Chicago, their career suddenly takes off. It is only one game for Austin Reed in the UFL. He played with two different coaching staffs with the Bears. He did get a sniff of the Ben Johnson offense in preseason in 2025. You have to like his football IQ to handle some different offenses at the professional level and thrive. He looks like he has the stuff to be a solid QB in the UFL as we will see how it all unfolds for him. If I were him, I would not re-sign with the Bears if his season does end up going well like his first game did. Who wants to be the 4th quarterback? He may have a better chance with another team to actually make a NFL roster rather than just settle for a practice squad position. Maybe the football gods are starting to help a team like the Bears which has been deprived so long at the quarterback position. All the bums this franchise has had. Yes, we had a few seasons of some solid QB play. Like Jim McMahon helping the Bears win their only Superbowl. He may have been a great QB if not for those bad injuries he suffered, which I believe set him back. I loved guys like Jim Miller and Erik Kramer. Those guys sparked this team for a few seasons. Then smoking Jay Cutler who somehow still has a cult following in the Windy City. Cutler broke many Bears records behind center which is easy to do because of the QB play this town has had. He was a selfish SOB only in for himself. Then the failed number 1 picks before Caleb. Like Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields. Both are back ups presently. I remember sports radio talking about how the Bears should draft a QB every year to finally get it right. Now they have the ICE-MAN in Williams, a guy that paints his finger nails in a blue collar town. Most of these bar flies would express absolute hatred for a guy like that. He’s playing well at a position that was so weak for this franchise for decades. They don’t care. Most people have never seen solid QB play in Chicago during their entire lifetime. Now the Bears have done well getting something out of undrafted QB’s like Tyson Bagent and Reed. Some team may give the Bears a 4th round pick for Bagent. I would like to keep Bagent but adding a pick to this April’s draft could help the team out in other positions. Because obviously the Bears know how to find quarterbacks. They could sign Reed or sign another undrafted free agent if Austin does not want to come back. You feel the world is coming to an end when a team like the Bears know something about selecting a solid QB.