Bears BENCH Keenum For Bagent — He Still Collects Every Guaranteed Dollar | Case Keenum

The Chicago Bears look ready to start Tyson Bagent over Case Keenum in Week 4 against the Jets, even though Keenum just beat the Eagles clean in Week 3 with a 2.41-second average release and a rushing touchdown. The easy read is that Chicago is pivoting away from Keenum's contract to save money, but the deal itself says otherwise: a two-year, $5.5 million contract with a 2026 cap hit of $2.2 million and $2.9 million guaranteed, confirmed on the public contract record. Under NFL rules, that guarantee is tied to Keenum staying on the 53-man roster, not to his snap count, so benching him saves Chicago nothing and starting him would have cost nothing extra. Bagent, an undrafted 2023 signee who has thrown nine career passes, gets the start on reputation built in meetings and practice, not box score evidence, while Caleb Williams continues working through a three-to-four-week hamstring strain that started this entire chain of decisions. Chicago previously ran this same financial play in 2017 with Mike Glennon, who kept every guaranteed dollar after being benched for a rookie by Week 5. Narration are AI generated. #ChicagoBears #DaBears #BearsNews