The Chicago Bears are licking their wounds following a 31-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, and the problem was clear as day for head coach Ben Johnson and Co.
Their offense left their defense exposed to the vulnerabilities that were already there.
Per Fantasy Football Today’s Jacob Gibbs and Fantasy Points Data, the Bears had three of the top-10 players (bad) in lowest catchable target rate among players with at least five passing in their direction in Week 5.
Johnson noted that the staff had not seen Tyson Bagent making some of the decisions he did in Week 5, and really over the past two weeks, saying they will address the issue.
However, he also refrained from committing to Bagent as QB2 moving forward.
Data Clear for Ben Johnson to Lead Bears News Roundup
Ben Johnson Noncommittal to Tyson Bagent as Bears QB2
Asked about Bagent’s ability to be a starting QB, Johnson said the Bears have three passers they can win games with between Bagent, Case Keenum, and the injured Caleb Williams (surely, not meant as a slight practice squad QB and rookie undrafted free agent Miller Moss).
The answer to who would be QB1 in practice on Wednesday if Williams cannot participate, Johnson did not have an answer.
He said they are “still working through that” and that “no determination has been made.”
Johnson was clear that the Bears shared the blame as a team for the loss, including himself and the coaching staff. But the situation in Wednesday’s practice will be noteworthy, as will who they decide is Williams’ backup once he returns in full.
Bears Waive Pass Rusher
Johnson and the Bears tweaked their roster on Monday, cutting ties with seventh-year pass rusher Jonathan Garvin.
“#Bears waived Jonathan Garvin from IR,” KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on X on Monday.
Garvin, 27, has been on IR since August, and Pro Football Reference lists him has having been waived in September. He likely reverted back to the team’s IR, which would mean this move also involves an injury settlement.
The only problem with that is that teams have finite windows–typically less than one week–following a player reverting to IR to work out a settlement.
There is no mention of Garvin on the Bears’ official website after he went on IR in August. Garvin is notably a former seventh-round pick, taken 242nd overall by the Packers in the 2020 NFL Draft.
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