The injury bug has made its way through NFL quarterbacks as the 2023 season nears its midpoint entering Week 9 as 11 teams have a starting signal-caller dealing with one thing or another. The Chicago Bears are one of those teams, as starter Justin Fields has missed the last two games with a dislocated right thumb. In his absence, Chicago has started D-II undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent out of Shepherd, who is 1-1 in his starts -- a 30-12 home win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7 and a 30-13 road loss at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8.
Fields is still "week-to-week" with his injury, and Bagent will make his third career start on Sunday vs. the New Orleans Saints. However, Bears general manager Ryan Poles said on the ESPN 1000 pregame show Sunday that Fields could potentially return next week against the Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football."
Albeit just two games, here's how Bagent has fared as an NFL starter:
| Week 7 vs. Raiders | Week 8 at Chargers | |
|---|---|---|
Comp Pct | 72.4% (21-29) | 67.6% (25-37) |
Pass Yards | 162 | 232 |
Pass Yards/Att | 5.6 | 6.3 |
TD-INT | 1-0 | 0-2 |
| Passer Rating | 97.2 | 62.0 |
Bagent registered career highs in completions (25), passing attempts (37), passing yards (232) and interceptions on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 8. However, he has another tough opponent in front of him in Week 9 in the Saints, a defense that ranks top 10 in the NFL in scoring defense (19.3 points per game allowed, ninth in league), total defense (296.4 total yards per game allowed), third-down defense (32.4% conversion rate allowed, second in league) and passer rating allowed (73.2, second in league).
