Jason Burgos
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy took the NFL by storm in 2022, and the Chicago Bears believe they may have “the next Brock Purdy” in undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent.
The Chicago Bears began 2023 like they finished last season — in the midst of a losing streak. After losing 10 straight to end their 2022 campaign, the team kicked off this season by taking four more losses. However, in Week 5 they were finally able to bring an end to the longest losing skid in the storied history of the franchise.
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Since then, they have gone 2-1 and one of those victories included a somewhat surprising whooping of the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend. While the Raiders are also a team that seems headed to missing the playoffs in 2023, the victory was notable for the Bears because they were without starting QB Justin Fields. In his place was undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent.
The majority of undrafted players don’t last long in the NFL, and even fewer get to start in their rookie seasons, especially at quarterback. However, the star from Shepherd actually beat out veteran backup Nathan Peterman in training camp to win the backup job and was efficient and effective in helping lead the team to a 30-12 win last week.
While many around the league who know little about the 23-year-old were surprised, it seems his teammates were not one bit surprised about his productive performance in Week 7. In fact, some feel he bears similarities to a current starter who shocked the league last year with his success after being “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2022 NFL draft.
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On Sunday morning, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned why the team has a solid amount of confidence about their chances on Sunday night versus the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It wasn’t a surprise to anyone around the Bears to see Tyson Bagent play well during last Sunday’s win over the Raiders,” Schefter wrote. “One Bears player predicted in training camp that Bagent would turn out to be ‘the next Brock Purdy.'”
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After injuries to their QB1 and QB2 last season, Brock Purdy was thrust into the starting QB spot for the Super Bowl contender 49ers. Despite very low expectations, he was impressive in the final weeks of the season and nearly led them to the Super Bowl earlier this year, if not for a serious shoulder injury.
He has also helped them maintain that high offensive standard they set last year during their 2023 campaign.
Nagent has hit on 31 of his first 43 passes so far, for 245 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a solid 84.0 passer rating in one and a half starts.
Fields has a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand and the hope is he returns to action in the next couple of weeks.
