Sunday afternoon, history was made in Chicago. Well, sort of. Quarterback Tyson Bagent became the first West Virginia-born quarterback to start and win an NFL game since 1974 when Joe Gilliam did it with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bagent completed 21-of-29 pass attempts for 162 yards and one touchdown and also ran for 24 yards on three carries in the Chicago Bears' 30-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He finished with a QB rating of 70.1 which was good for the ninth-best in the league.
He was overlooked coming out of high school despite leading Martinsburg HS to state championships in 2016 and 2017. He accepted a scholarship to Shepherd and went on to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, throwing for 17,034 yards and 159 touchdowns to 48 interceptions while completing 69% of his passes.
After creating some buzz at the combine and Senior Bowl, many assumed a team would take him on day three of the 2023 NFL Draft. Somehow, that didn't happen and he signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent. Chicago also signed former Panthers veteran backup QB PJ Walker in the offseason, meaning Bagent didn't have a spot locked up on the 53-man roster. He pieced together a strong preseason and outperformed Walker which led to his release while Bagent was named the backup to Justin Fields.
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