“Sometimes you report things teams don’t want you to report”: Ian Rapoport reveals Ben Johnson’s ploy to mislead teams over Chicago Bears starter (Image via Getty: Ben Johnson and Chicago Bears logo)
He led the Chicago Bears to an 11-6 season record in 2025. The Bears won the 2025 NFC North division title. Williams took care of himself throughout the 2025 season. But two games into the 2026 season, he rekindled a college injury: a grade 2 hamstring. Keenum quietly left the gridiron and Bagent led the team to a Week 4 victory over the New York Jets. That helped the Chicago Bears win the Week 3 game over the much-dreaded Philadelphia Eagles. Now that Week 5 is here and reports about who’s going to start in Chicago have already started puzzling media houses and other NFL teams, NFL insider Ian Rapoport has revealed Ben Johnson’s ploy very conveniently. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported just hours ago that Tyson Bagent is expected to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed just hours ago to everyone! Ian Rapoport later revealed Ben Johnson’s ploy.
“Well, I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement, so I wanted to get Case out there,” said Johnson. Perhaps able to practice next week,” said Ian Rapoport via NFL Network. Ben Johnson is a first-time head coach. He also led the team to first place in the NFC North. This must have left Ben Johnson looking for different ways to trick other teams. How does he do that? But just to stir things up, Case Keenum showed up for the first snap while Tyson Bagent lined up at receiver. What happened next? Or, it could also mean that the coach wanted to carry forward Case Keenum’s luck factor! You never know. Caleb Williams remains away from his return. He could return to practice next week. “Okay, so this week, and I say this week very specifically, Tyson Bagent is expected to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Seems like Caleb Williams is still a couple of weeks away. So not going to play this week.