Bears' Tyson Bagent brings winning pedigree to prime-time opportunity vs. Chargers

"What usually happens is I win, what's best for you is don't fight it," he said before arm wrestling NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "Relax there young man, I thought you'd be a lot stronger," Travis joked before beating Pelissero easily. 

While Tyson didn't wrack up championships at Shepherd at the same rate as his Travis has on the arm wrestling circuit, he did represent the family legacy well at the Martinsburg, West Virginia school. In five seasons he amassed 17,034 passing yards with 159 touchdowns to 48 interceptions while winning the Harlon Hill Award, the D-II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. 

Before the draft, draft analyst Tony Pauline shared his thoughts on Bagent's potential following the 2023 combine on Pro Football Network.com

"Bagent was an incredibly productive quarterback on the small-school level. He has the arm strength and size to play at the next level, yet Bagent must significantly improve his accuracy and pass placement to ever make an impact on an NFL team."

Bagent may not have looked like the next coming of Tom Brady in his first professional start, but was solid. He completed 72.4 percent of his passes and connected with eight different targets against the Raiders while managing not to turn the ball over. 

Sure his 21 completions only amounted to 165 yards, but Bagent appeared to show the kind of decision-making that will help keep the Bears competitive at least as long as Justin Fields is injured. 

Could a quarterback controversy be brewing in the Windy City?