Ben Johnson had spent about nine minutes trying to dodge the question of his starting quarterback like an oncoming blitzer when he was asked Wednesday whether he didn’t know whom it was — or simply didn’t want to advertise it.
A smile emerged from the corner of the Bears coach’s mouth.
“I don’t know,” he said.
It was a fair question, he was reminded.
“We’ll know on Sunday who’s playing,” he said. “We’re good.”
Call it gamesmanship as the Bears prepare to face the Jets and his friend Aaron Glenn — the two were Lions assistants before getting head coaching jobs — on Sunday at Soldier Field. After Johnson spent last week refusing to name a starter, he seems intent to do so again.
For someone who’s been praised for being so future-forward with his play-calling, playing the will-he-or-won’t-he game is decidedly old school — and confounding. If Johnson is as confident in the Bears’ quarterback room as he says he is, why not say who the starter will be? Is Glenn really staying up all night worried about whether it will be Case Keenum, who got his first start in threea years Monday, or Bagent, whose starting drought is even longer? Does Johnson want Glenn to think that Caleb Williams, who has a Grade 2 hamstring injury, might actually play despite all the evidence to the contrary?
“I know all three of them can win ballgames for us,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he knows the “direction” he wants to go at quarterback, but offered few clues otherwise. What the Bears do know at the start of their work week, though, is this: Keenum is coming off one of the best games of his career, Bagent is fully recovered from his concussion and Williams is still hurt. Williams, who pulled his hamstring against the Vikings, did not participate in the Bears’ walk-through Wednesday. Though Johnson said Williams is “getting better every single day,” missing the walk-through seems to suggest Williams is not a serious candidate to return this week. The Bears waited until two days before the Eagles game to rule him out — and figure to take their time again.
Keenum is the hot hand after he went 24-for-34 for 247 yards and two touchdowns in a “Monday Night Football” performance that made him, if for a moment, the biggest story in the NFL. He practiced all last week in preparation for the Eagles game, making Johnson feel comfortable from the get-go.
Isn’t there a benefit to riding the player that just led the Bears to a 27-7 win?
“Yeah, listen, we’re looking at everything,” Johnson said. “So he played really well the other night. Sure, that plays a part of the evaluation …
“He played really decisive football the other night, and it was much needed, too. That group can get after the quarterback. They have a really talented front. He got pressured a few times, and he was able to get rid of the ball. And he trusted that his guys were going to be where they’re supposed to be. So he had a great grasp of the game plan, and I think once again that week of preparation really played into his confidence going into that game.”
Bagent reported concussion symptoms Sept. 22, two days after he filled in for Williams. He didn’t return to practice until Saturday and served as the Bears’ second-stringer on Monday night. Johnson has reiterated for the past two weeks that Bagent was ahead of Keenum on the depth chart the last year-and-a-half for a reason.
Wednesday’s walk-through was closed to reporters. Johnson won’t speak to the media again until Friday. He’ll try to keep his quarterback secret even longer.
“Whoever we feel like gives us the best chance to win,” Johnson said.
