The Caleb Williams era officially began when the Chicago Bears drafted him 1st overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bears hope Williams can stay healthy because their quarterback room is weak, and the team lacks a definitive backup.
The Bears signed two quarterbacks this offseason.
The Chicago Bears signed a 27-year-old to a contract.
The Bears signed Brett Rypien to a one-year deal. Rypien will be on his fifth team in his sixth year in the NFL. He has played in ten games and started four in his career, with 950 passing yards, four touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 2-2 record.
They also signed an undrafted quarterback to a contract.
The Chicago Bears signed an undrafted free agent.
According to Jordan Schultz, the Bears signed Austin Reed as an undrafted free agent. Reed spent the last two seasons in Western Kentucky.
Austin Reed spent the last two seasons with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
After spending his first four seasons with the Southern Illinois Salukis and the West Florida Argonauts, Austin Reed transferred to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for the 2022 season. Reed had a successful career with the Hilltoppers, completing 678 out of 1,073 pass attempts for 8,086 yards, 71 passing touchdowns, and 22 interceptions with a 16-10 record.
Reed had an impressive 2022 season. He started 14 games and completed 389 out of 603 pass attempts for 4,746 yards, 40 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 9-5 record. Conference USA named him to the All-Conference USA Second Team.
Reed’s numbers dropped in 2023, but he still played well. He started 12 games and completed 289 out of 470 pass attempts for 3,340 yards, 31 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 7-5 record. Conference USA named him to the All-Conference USA Honorable Mention.
Lance Zierlein’s scouting report of Austin Reed.
Lance Zierlein of NFL Network did a scouting report of Reed.
“Reed has impressive career production but lacks NFL traits for the position. He benefited from a scheme that featured almost 30 percent of his throws targeted behind the line of scrimmage in 2023 — and he still completed under 60 percent of his passes, per Pro Football Focus.
“While his receivers dropped too many easy throws, Reed often lacked the touch and accuracy needed to make their jobs easier. He’s a competitor who can slip away from pressure and make plays out of structure, but he simply doesn’t have the arm to make the intermediate and deep throws required for the position in the NFL.”
Austin Reed will compete with two other QBs for the backup job.
Austin Reed will compete for the backup job with Brett Rypien and Tyson Bagent.
Bagent won the backup quarterback job in his rookie season. He played in five games and started four, completing 94 out of 143 pass attempts for 859 yards, three touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 2-2 record.
Will Reed dethrone Bagent as QB2?
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