Bears News: Johnson on Williams’ development, Bagent secures $10M deal

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - If you were not excited about what the Bears offense could look like under new head coach Ben Johnson, you probably were after watching Chicago pitch a 38-0 shutout against the Buffalo Bills.

Quarterback Caleb Williams and the rest of the offense was far more efficient on that drive than they were most of last season.

“I thought the communication was very clean. I thought he heard the plays well from me and then he communicated it well in the huddle and we really didn’t have many issues in terms of getting lined up with plenty of time. There was one time he flipped the protection, which was great to see. I thought he saw the field really well. I thought he played with some timing and anticipation. There’s certainly some things that we can build upon there and keep getting better at,” Johnson said. I thought it was a good start, encouraging for the whole group to get out there, go through that pregame process night before the game, day of the game, get out there in pregame and then you don’t start with the best conditions. I’m talking about your first drives on the minus eight to start the game and yet, they didn’t bat an eye and just took it one play at a time and so, I thought the whole group did a nice job there.”

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent also performed incredibly well. He finished the game with 196 passing yards and a touchdown with a quarterback rating of 103.6.

On Wed. Aug. 20, just a few games later, Bagent signed a two-year contract extension worth $10 million.

Since Johnson arrived in Chicago, Bagent has been a player who has stood out for his dedication to learning the offense and helping the Bears be successful in any way possible, and was rewarded for it.

“I’ve really been blown away by his approach from the spring to the start of camp to where we are now. He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it and getting it done,” Johnson said. “He and I are probably wired very (similarly), just when he enters a room, he’s usually all business and so, to get him to crack a smile sometimes is a challenge, which we like to do. As coaches, you try to find that right balance of having a little levity at times, but at the same time, making sure what we need to get across gets across and so, we try to loosen him up because he’s so serious about his job. He wants to do so well and he wants the team to do well that he’s always locked in. So, I can appreciate that about him because I can relate.”

There were a lot of changes this offseason for Chicago, especially at offensive line as Johnson made it a priority to ensure the quarterback would be protected this season unlike last year when Williams was sacked 68 times. One addition that raised some eyebrows was trading for offensive lineman Jonah Jackson who was benched with the Los Angeles Rams.

However, he had success under Johnson in Detroit and is hoping to see that translate to the Bears.

“I just know who he is. I was in Detroit when he was drafted out of Ohio State. We had a great relationship, whether I was a tight end coach or the coordinator,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy that I believe in, and we’re very fortunate to have him here. I think we’re going to get the best version of him this year.”

Chicago’s final preseason game will be against the Kansas City Chiefs on Fri, Aug. 22 (7:20 p.m. / FOX).

Unfortunately, they will be without cornerback Terell Smith for that game as well as the rest of the season after he suffered an injury against Buffalo.