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Bears coach Ben Johnson is considering his options at quarterback for matchup with the Jets

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Cite

Cohen, J. (2026, September 30). Bears coach Ben Johnson is considering his options at quarterback for matchup with the Jets. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/bears-coach-ben-johnson-is-considering-his-options-at-quarterback-for-matchup-with-the-jets/article_142cc876-6ae6-5814-bfac-1caa953c0010.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-30 · by Jay Cohen

Quick Summary

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is undecided on who will start at quarterback for their upcoming home game against the New York Jets, with Caleb Williams out due to a hamstring injury. Case Keenum performed well in Monday’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles, while Tyson Bagent is expected to be unrestricted this week after clearing concussion protocol. Johnson emphasized that he’ll choose based on which player gives the team the best chance to win, without revealing a firm decision yet.
Written by AI on 2026-10-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ben Johnson, coach of the Chicago Bears, is facing a decision about who will quarterback against the New York Jets this Sunday after Caleb Williams was sidelined by a right hamstring injury. Johnson has three options: Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent, and Caleb Williams himself. On Monday night, Keenum led the Bears to an impressive 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring on a 1-yard sneak in the fourth quarter. Despite not disclosing his choice directly, Johnson indicated that a decision has been made regarding Sunday's starter but wouldn't reveal who it would be. Williams is still recovering from injury and did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough practice, whereas Bagent, the No. 2 quarterback behind Williams, is expected to have no restrictions this week as Chicago prepares for their home game against the Jets.

Written for “Bears Coach Decides Quarterback” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Bears Coach Decides Quarterback
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Jay Cohen
39 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Chicago is 5-2 after winning its first two games since quarterback Caleb Williams returned from a hamstring injury.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Acquiring Jeffery Simmons like 'Christmas morning' for the Chicago Bears
🔮 Led by Caleb Williams, Chicago has won two in a row to improve to 5-2 going into Monday night’s game at Seattle.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Chicago Bears acquire DT Jeffery Simmons in pricey trade with the Tennessee Titans
🔮 Forwards Noa Essengue and Patrick Williams were sidelined for Chicago, which was coming off a 132-125 win at Milwaukee on Friday.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Young scores 25 points as the Wizards hold off Wilson and the Bulls for a 124-120 win
🔮 Chicago will be without Cole Kmet for the rest of the season after he hurt his right knee on a reception with 5:34 left in Thursday night’s 30-24 win over New England.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Cole Kmet sidelined by season-ending knee injury, testing tight end depth for the Chicago Bears
🔮 Kyle Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the New England 34.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Stevenson gives the Patriots a momentary lift with a 48-yard TD reception on final play of 1st half
🔮 CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chicago Bears cooled off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots with a 30-24 win on Thursday night.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Caleb Williams throws 2 TD passes as the Bears beat Drake Maye and the Patriots 30-24
🔮 After public outcry, Polymarket removed a contract from its prediction market platform that allowed users to wager on whether any of the seven men accused of raping a Cornell student in 2024 would be charged with a felony sex crime.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Polymarket halts bets on fate of Cornell students accused of gang rape
🔮 Catcher Will Smith is 1 for 19 in the postseason after going 0 for 3 with a walk against the Brewers.
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🔮 It was always going to be the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers — with their consecutive World Series titles and a payroll that casts a long shadow over Yelich and the small-market Brewers.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Christian Yelich and the Brewers looking to get past Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers in NLCS sequel
🔮 "Absent the clarity that only this Court can provide, (prediction market) operators will continue exploiting the gap between state and federal regulation, endangering consumers and the integrity of sports events across the country," legal counsel for the NFL stated in the filing.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 39 articles by Jay Cohen →

Topics

Bears Chicago Ill. Jets LAKE FOREST

Subjects

Johnson PERSON · 6× Keenum PERSON · 5× Bagent PERSON · 4× Bears ORG · 4× Williams PERSON · 4× Chicago GPE · 3× Jets ORG · 2× Chicago Bears ORG · 1× Ill. GPE · 1× LAKE FOREST GPE · 1×

Narrative

With Caleb Williams sidelined by a right hamstring injury, Case Keenum led Chicago to an impressive 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01
🔮 As far as who is going to start on Sunday, well, he isn’t willing to share that information just yet.
2026-10-01 · Toronto Star
Bears coach Ben Johnson is considering his options at quarterback for matchup with the Jets · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 1 hedged)

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson likes his three quarterbacks. asserted
Johnson → like → quarterbacks
As far as who is going to start on Sunday, well, he isn’t willing to share that information just yet. asserted
he → go → information
“Yeah, we got three guys, and we’ll kind of … we’ll work through the week and see where they’re at,” Johnson said Wednesday. asserted
Johnson → get → where
With Caleb Williams sidelined by a right hamstring injury, Case Keenum led Chicago to an impressive 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. asserted
Keenum → sideline → night
Keenum passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and he also scored on a 1-yard sneak in the fourth quarter. asserted
he → pass → quarter
Tyson Bagent is considered the No. 2 quarterback behind Williams, but he wasn’t able to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol until Sunday. asserted
he → consider → Sunday
It looks as if Bagent will have no restrictions this week as Chicago (2-1) prepares for its home game against the New York Jets (1-2). asserted
Chicago → look → Jets
“He’s getting better every single day,” Johnson said of Williams. asserted
Johnson → get → Williams
That means the choice for the Jets game likely comes down to Keenum or Bagent. asserted
choice → mean → Keenum
Asked for the factors being considered when it comes to the starting quarterback, Johnson responded: “Whoever we feel like gives us the best chance to win.” asserted
feel → ask → chance
But he acknowledged that Keenum’s performance against Philly is part of the equation. asserted
performance → acknowledge → equation
“We’re looking at everything, and so he played really well the other night,” he said. asserted
he → look → everything
“Sure, that plays a part of the evaluation.” asserted
that → play → evaluation
The 38-year-old Keenum was 24-for-34 passing in his first regular-season action since he started for Houston in a 36-22 loss to Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2023. asserted
he → pass → Dec.
With Keenum efficiently running the offense, Chicago finished with 24 first downs and had the ball for almost 37 minutes. asserted
Chicago → run → minutes
Bagent was 5 for 9 for 54 yards after he replaced Williams against the Vikings. asserted
he → replace → Vikings
Bagent made four starts while appearing in five games as a rookie in 2023, passing for 859 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions. asserted
Bagent → make → interceptions
“Whoever they put out there we have the utmost belief that they’re going to be able to get the job done,” Bears running back D’Andre Swift said. asserted
Swift → put → belief
Left tackle is another question for the Bears Johnson and the Bears also have to sort out their plans at left tackle. asserted
Bears → have → tackle
Braxton Jones is week to week with a knee injury after he got hurt against the Eagles. asserted
he → hurt → Eagles
Theo Benedet could replace Jones against the Jets, and Johnson mentioned Jordan McFadden and Joe Thuney as two more options at that position. uncertain
Johnson → replace → position
Ozzy Trapilo also is nearing a return from a patellar tendon injury. asserted
Trapilo → near → injury
“He’s getting closer,” Johnson said of Trapilo. asserted
Johnson → get → Trapilo
“I don’t know if this will be the week or not. asserted
this → know → ?
Like I said, he’s part of that mix where we’re talking about guys that we got to evaluate over the course of the week.” asserted
we → say → week
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