The Chicago Bears are facing something of a crisis as they prepare for their Week 3 Monday Night game against the Philadelphia Eagles. They suffered a key injury in the late stages of their 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings when MVP candidate Caleb Williams went down with a hamstring injury in the final moments.
Shortly after Williams was helped to the locker room, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent attempted to lead the Bears to a last-second triumph, but he was hammered on the final play of the game by Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner and that play secured Minnesota's triumph.
It also appeared to knock Bagent into a state of concussion, and he was reported to be in concussion protocol throughout the week as the Bears prepared for their Monday night home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
No. 3 quarterback may be in play
It appeared that the Bears would have to start 38-year-old third-string quarterback Case Keenum in the game. Williams' injury appeared to be severe at the time as the quarterback screamed out in pain and pounded the Soldier Field turf with his fist.
However, as Williams underwent further examinations during the week, the injury was ruled far less severe. He will not play against the Eagles as head coach Ben Johnson and the Bears' medical staff don't want to risk further injury, but he could be back in Week 4 against the New York Jets or Week 5 against the archrival Green Bay Packers.
Bagent's status is far less certain. When he was in concussion protocol throughout the week, it appeared that there was no way he would be able to play. However, after missing practice Thursday and Friday, Bagent was a full participant for the Bears in Saturday's practice session. He is officially listed on the injury report as questionable, and that makes Chicago's fantasy implications somewhat more difficult to determine.
Bears were a fantasy juggernaut in Week 1, but appear to be limited vs. Eagles
Despite the change in Bagent's status at the conclusion of Saturday's team practice, it seems likely that the Bears will have a conservative game plan from a fantasy perspective against the Eagles and will try to turn the game into a low-scoring defensive battle.
The Bears have a pair of dangerous running backs in D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai who both exceed the 100-yard mark in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. Head coach Ben Johnson will ask his offense to control the clock as much as possible with that ground attack.
He may not be looking for long and explosive plays. He wants his team to limit Philadelphia's possessions and maximize their own.
Even if Bagent is in the lineup, the Bears don't want to risk any further injuries that would knock him out in future weeks. Bagent is considered a solid No. 2 quarterback and he had a decent run in 2023 when he started in four of the five games he played for the Bears. He had solid numbers as he completed 94 of 143 passes for 859 yards with 3 TDs.
While he has not seen a lot of action since, the Bears are confident that he can do an adequate job as Williams' backup — as long as he is healthy.
That does not appear to be the case in Week 3. This seems to be the game that Keenum will get his chance.
Keenum will take a ‘caretaker' role in Johnson's offense
The NFL season is long and grueling. In comparison with the other major sports, a 17-game season does not seem lengthy compared to the NBA (82 games), NHL (84 games) or MLB (162 games), but there is no reason for those making the decisions to panic and push injured players into the lineup at this point.
The Bears know they can't push Williams into the lineup and have ruled him out and they should not risk their No. 2 quarterback to further injury.
The likelihood of beating a contending team like the Eagles with their No. 3 quarterback is quite slim. As a result, the team's fantasy implications are poor for this game. If Keenum is under center, he can read the Philadelphia defense fairly well, but his ability to get away from the pass rush is limited.
Possession passes to Rome Odunze, Luther Burden and Colston Loveland are likely, but none of them will have big fantasy games.
Running game is top fantasy factor for Bears
The best chance for fantasy production revolve around Swift and Monangai. The latter was listed on the injury report with a knee issue, but he has been a full participant in practice.
PK Cairo Santos has a right hip injury, but he has also been a full participant. The veteran kicker has been very dependable throughout his career, even when he has had to battle injuries.
The other aspect to consider is the Bears defense, because the heat will be on that unit to keep the Bears in the game. That may be quite difficult against Jalen Hurts and a veteran team like the Eagles.
The only fantasy recommendation for this game is to play Swift in a fantasy lineup and hope that he can deliver a powerful effort even though the Eagles know he is the likely center piece of the game plan.