Declan Doyle on Bagent, Trapilo, and the talented Bears offense

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 23 hours ago

CHICAGO - There are a lot of new faces at the Chicago Bears’ training camp this season versus last year. That includes offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who is going into his first training camp as the offensive coordinator, and it should be a busy one for him.

To start, there is the competition for the backup quarterback role between Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum. Keenum has 11 years of experience under his belt, playing in 80 regular-season games. Bagent, on the other hand, is going into his third season and has played in only nine games, starting four.

However, he has been Chicago’s backup quarterback the past two seasons.

“They’re very different … A lot of times your starter is a little bit different than your two, and so, if you ever got in a situation where you had to build the offense for the two, the offense looks a little bit different and that comes into building an offense that can morph,” Doyle said. “Both players are really good operators. They can operate our scheme. We’re trying to build it right now with Caleb in mind, and that’s the first and foremost, what we’re trying to get done. But, as far as the skill sets of either of those guys, we’re comfortable with both of them handling what we’re going to ask of them in training camp.”

This competition is particularly interesting when thinking about Bagent. He was a Cinderella story back in 2023 - going to the NFL Combine from a Division II school, winning the backup role and starting four games for the Bears after starting quarterback Justin Fields suffered an injury. On Hard Knocks last year, he made it very clear that he wants to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

With Bagent set to become a restricted free agent after this season, this may be his last season in Chicago, so he can pursue being a starter with another franchise.

He certainly has the intangibles off the field to be a starte,r as he has a passion for the game and is dedicated to fixing his mistakes.

“Tyson is no-nonsense. He’s business-like. Football’s really important to him,” Doyle said. “He’s excellent in the position room and out on the field, he’s constantly communicating what he sees and where he needs to go with the football, coming back, what the problems might be. He sees the game pretty clearly and I think that’s because he takes it really seriously and he studies.”

The other major competition during training camp is for the left tackle position. Right now, rookie Ozzy Trapilo seems to have a realistic chance of winning the starting job despite both other players in contention for the spot - Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie - having NFL experience.

Trapilo has set himself apart with his dedication and maturity.

“He’s a rookie, but he feels like a veteran just as far as how he carries himself, how he works on the field,” Doyle said. “I know (offensive line coach) Dan (Roushar) and (assistant offensive line coach) Kyle (Devan) have been really pleased with him and obviously, that race over there on the left side is going to be one that we’re excited to see and iron sharpens iron and the best one’s going to come out.”

Every training camp, there is usually at least one player who surprises people who no one had on their radar. Right now, that player appears to be wide receiver JP Richardson. Richardson played in college for four seasons - the first two with Oklahoma State and the final two with TCU. He finished his career with 1,940 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

While he may not be practicing with the first string, he is certainly getting noticed.

“I think JP is a guy that has come in here, been very intentional about learning the playbook. First thing is always, ‘Do you know what to do?’ and at that point in time, you kind of unlock your ability to show off your ability,” Doyle said. “He’s done a really good job of coming in and learning it. He’s an athletic guy. He has a little bit of a twitch to him in the route tree and obviously through the first three days, it’s been fun to see.”

Chicago’s first preseason game is Sun. Aug. 10 (Noon / FOX) against the Miami Dolphins. Since Richardson is not a starter, Bears fans should be able to watch Richardson for at least part of this game.