Tyson Bagent was a tale of two halves on Sunday. He was excellent in the first. Outside of one bad throw, he dissected the New Orleans Saints defense for over 200 total yards and two touchdowns. Then, in the second half, the Saints adjusted and baited him into two interceptions and forced a fumble on a sack. Bagent admitted it was an inexcusable sequence for which he took full responsibility. Most people used that as evidence that the kid is incapable of being a starter in the NFL. Justin Fields is the guy, and that won’t change for the rest of the year.
One person doesn’t see it that way. Former Bears defensive end Alex Brown did see Bagent’s second-half struggles as indicative of his inability to play in the NFL. He saw it as a young quarterback making mistakes. People so easily gloss over the fact Bagent was making his third NFL start. The fact he put up 220 yards and two touchdowns against the league’s 7th-best pass defense is notable. As for the turnovers? Yes, they were bad. However, most had less to do with his talent and more about teachable mistakes. Two of the interceptions came from throwing two far behind the receivers.
Brown explained on NBC Sports Chicago.
Brown understands that. Fields is the starter. Head coach Matt Eberflus made that clear. Still, the point being made is that we’ve seen who Fields is by now. He’s a tremendous athlete who can make spectacular plays from time to time. However, his ability to play the position the right way by reading defenses, showing poise in the pocket, and understanding when and where to go with the ball eludes him. Bagent understands those things. Arm strength aside, what he lacks is experience. Brown is willing to use the remaining eight games to explore whether he can improve.
It’s not like the Bears have anything to lose at this point. They’re 2-7. The playoff hopes are dead. It should be about evaluating what you have for the future. Recent rumblings have hinted this regime is ready to move on from Fields. They’ve seen enough. What they should want to figure out is whether Tyson Bagent may actually be viable as a starter. The only way to know is by giving him more starts and living with the mistakes. It won’t happen. The Bears will see the Fields experiment through to the end, but Brown does have a point.
