Stepping in midseason unexpectedly is difficult for a rookie quarterback even in an otherwise ideal situation. But as undrafted upstart Tyson Bagent gets ready for his shot against the Raiders, the Bears are anything but ideal.

He’s replacing Justin Fields, who struggled to navigate the same problems Bagent likely will encounter Sunday. The Bears have been averaging 21.3 points per game, a stat boosted by about four points because of their outburst against the Commanders, and have allowed the fourth-most pressure from opposing pass rushers.

And typically it takes 30 points to outrun their defensive woes. Good luck, kid.

None of that fazed Bagent as he looked ahead Wednesday to making his first start — something he envisioned since childhood in Martinsburg, W.V.

“Oddly, I always thought it was gonna happen,” he said. “Me and my dad really were the only ones that thought that this was gonna happen. After that, it was just figuring out how I could outwork everybody that maybe had more things than I did, had better facilities and all that stuff. It was really just trying to get it out of the mud, putting a lot of work in the shadow and just so I’d be ready for this week.”

Regardless of how it goes with Bagent, it’s good that the Bears are at least trying to develop a young backup quarterback. That’s something they should do every year. The best structure would be a starter, followed by a viable veteran — the Bears whiffed on that part this season — and a prospect with high potential.

The last several years, there’s been no intriguing candidate that anyone had any interest in seeing. There was no upside with Nick Foles, Trevor Siemian or Nathan Peterman.

Peterman is still around. He opened the season as Fields’ backup before Bagent overtook him in Week 4. With Fields out, Peterman will be the No. 2 quarterback Sunday, and the Bears could promote Trace McSorley from the practice squad to be their emergency third quarterback.