Bears' Ben Johnson makes big quarterback admission for Eagles game amid injury crisis

As of Wednesday afternoon, the only thing that Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson knew for sure about his quarterback situation for the club's Week 3 "Monday Night Football" game against the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 28 is that somebody will serve as Chicago's QB1 that evening. 

The identity of that quarterback may not be revealed until this coming weekend. 

Bears prepared to let quarterback situation "play out"

"We’ve got three guys that can play ball in this league, that have won games in this league," Johnson said on Wednesday, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "And so, we’re at a point right now [where we’re] not sure who the starter’s going to be on Monday night. We’ll let this thing play out, and we’ll go from there."

A Wednesday morning update indicated that Bears starter Caleb Williams will "miss at least a little time" due to the right hamstring injury he suffered this past Sunday. That same story suggested that Chicago QB2 Tyson Bagent won't be available against the Eagles after he entered the NFL’s concussion protocol on Tuesday.

"We’re working through it," Johnson continued. "It’s good — Caleb’s out there in walk-through; he’s actively involved as well. So, it’s been good dialogue with all those guys, just making sure we’re accounting for any issues that could come up in this game, and we have sound ball plays so we can go out there and play fast." 

Ben Johnson "not concerned" about possibly playing third-choice option against Eagles

Third-choice option Case Keenum will be the Bears' QB1 for practices until further notice, and he presumably will start against the Eagles. Keenum hasn't thrown a regular-season in-game pass since December 2023, but Johnson seems to believe the 38-year-old could surprise some people on the final Monday of September. 

"He’s at the point of his career where he’s like another coach in a lot of ways," Johnson said about Keenum. "He’s seen a ton. He knows what good football looks like. He knows what a healthy locker room looks like, and he’s a key part of what we do. So, he and I talk on a regular basis from a quarterback meeting perspective to big lens with the team — he’s a big part of this. So, I’m not concerned at all about calling the game for him or how he can potentially play on Monday night."

Bears fans understandably may not share Johnson's optimism. That said, 1-1 Chicago may have no other choice but to turn to Keenum for the Eagles game and then hope that either Williams or Bagent can start Chicago's Week 4 home contest against the New York Jets on Oct. 4.