The Chicago Bears are gearing up for their Week 1 opener against the Green Bay Packers, where there’s still a question mark at quarterback…back quarterback, that is.
While Justin Fields is gearing up for his third NFL season, there’s a question about whether it’ll be rookie Tyson Bagent or veteran Nathan Peterman backing him up on Sunday.
The Bears have remained mum about the answer for the last couple of weeks, but head coach Matt Eberflus indicated Wednesday that they’re “leaning” toward rolling with Peterman as QB2 this Sunday.
“That’s what we’re looking at right now,” Eberflus said. “We haven’t made a final decision, but that’s where we’re leaning to now for this first game. But we’ll see where it goes during the course of the week, and we certainly reserve the right to make any adjustments as we need to going forward.”
But even if Peterman is the backup in Week 1, that doesn’t rule out a scenario where Bagent can win the QB2 job at some point this season.
“I think that’s to be said for the whole football team,” Eberflus said. “I think we’re always looking at guys developing and improving during the course of the year, and that person could jump into a No. 2 role or could stay where he is. I think that’s with everybody for us.”
It’s not an indictment on Bagent, who was easily the most impressive quarterback behind Fields in the preseason. Right now, it simply sounds like Chicago wants to roll with a veteran behind Fields.