The heavy lifting part of the Chicago Bears’ free-agency frenzy has long been over. And with the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon, all eyes are on prospects who fit the team in one way or another. But don’t lose sight of the fact that there are moves that still could be made in free agency. One such move could be an addition of another quarterback to serve as Caleb Williams’ backup.
In a wide-ranging one-on-one interview with the Hoge and Jahns podcast, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles sounded open to the team adding another arm to the team’s collection of quarterbacks.
Here is a clip:
— Hoge & Jahns (@HogeAndJahns) April 3, 2025
And here is the exchange between Adam Hoge and Ryan Poles laid out for those who can’t listen to the audio:
HOGE: Where are you guys on that idea of maybe having a veteran quarterback in that room?
POLES: That’s something Ben and I have discussed and talked about, and we’re still exploring. I know free agency is kind of over, but we’re still looking at some different options. We understand that there’s a unique wisdom that an experienced quarterback can bring to the table and help a young quarterback out. … The most important piece is making sure that it’s the right fit because that room is very, very special, and the personalities, the egos, all of that has to work out perfectly, or you can disrupt it significantly, so we’re being very particular. But that is something we can potentially address here in the near future.
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No team is ever truly done in free agency. The offseason roster churn never stops. But given what Chicago’s GM had to say about adding a quarterback, it seems as if we should be keeping tabs on possible activity at the position.
Who fits as a possible Bears backup quarterback?
Any quarterback who signs with the Bears this offseason should know that they will not have a cakewalk to the QB2 spot. Tyson Bagent has operated in that capacity for the last two seasons and is the type of player who won’t be bumped down to QB3 status without a fight. Bagent, an undrafted player who latched on with the Bears in 2023, still plays the part of a scrappy upstart well. So if a potential backup quarterback were to come in vying for Bagent’s job, it’s not as if the current backup will just allow that to happen.
Even still, it could be nice to have some competition in the room. Last year, we saw Brett Rypien arrive in free agency, play well in the preseason, and still fall short of making the team. I don’t imagine it was an easy cut for the Bears to make, but it was a necessary one because it didn’t make sense for the team to carry three quarterbacks. I wonder if that will change with Ben Johnson in his first year as a head coach.
If the Bears *DO* kick the tires on a free-agent quarterback, here are five players who could make sense as possible targets:
- Tyler Huntley —Even though Huntley has never been a primary starter, the 27-year-old was a Pro Bowler in 2022. Huntley brings some mobility to the table, which is something that the Bears (or any team looking for a QB2) could desire.
- Jeff Driskel —Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson was a Lions quality control coach for the Lions when Driskel made three starts for Detroit in 2019. Perhaps familiarity with Johnson is something that could lead Chicago to explore Driskel as a possible backup fit.
- C.J. Beathard —While familiarity is on our mind, maybe C.J. Beathard makes sense as an option. Beathard had two stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he crossed paths with Press Taylor, who was among the Bears’ offensive assistants hired in the offseason.
- Case Keenum —I wanted to put Joe Flacco here because I’m into the idea of a Super Bowl-winning veteran being in that locker room, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I think the Super Bowl XLVII MVP would rather go somewhere he can start. With that in mind, I found myself landing on Case Keenum because he has spent time as a primary starter *AND* has ample experience being someone’s QB2. Maybe he is ready to settle down into that role at age 37.
You can check out an expanded list of free-agent quarterbacks here via Over The Cap.
In the end, I found it telling that Bears GM Ryan Poles is open to adding a veteran arm to Chicago’s quarterback room. It will be interesting to see how this front office goes about plugging that particular hole between now and when training camp rolls around in July.
written by
Luis C. Medina
Luis C. Medina is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Nation. Since launching BN's Bears wing in 2017, he has written about 5 head coaches, 6 play-callers, and 10 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019. You can find him on Twitter here.
