INDIANAPOLIS — A broadcaster once asked former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore why star quarterback Peyton Manning’s backups never practiced. Moore’s response, with the curse words edited out, was this: the Colts were in deep trouble were Manning to ever get knocked out of the game, and he didn’t want to practice with his team being in deep trouble.
The Bears are nowhere near that point yet — putting quarterback Justin Fields and Manning in adjoining paragraphs, much less the same sentence, is not meant as a comparison. But the message, in the same city where Moore once worked, is identical: if Fields gets hurt, the Bears are in big trouble.
If Fields were injured for a significant period of time during the regular season, the Bears would be unable to evaluate him before he becomes eligible for a potential contract extension — the most important thing they can do this year. If they remained unconvinced, it’s fair to wonder if the Bears, armed with two 2024 first-round picks, would even prioritize winning.
Saturday night, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus — unlike Moore — had his team play while they were in deep trouble. In a 24-17 loss, they looked it.
Backup quarterback P.J. Walker stumbled through his starter showing in Saturday night’s exhibition pillow fight against the Colts. On the first snap, the faked a handoff, rolled right and stumbled on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf. He steadied himself and threw incomplete behind backup fullback Robert Burns.
The rest of his performance was just as bad. Walker went 1-for-4 for six yards and a 39.6 passer rating, though he was betrayed by a first-quarter Equanimeous St. Brown drop. He was sacked twice.
Combine that with his Week 1 stinker — Walker went 4-for-8 for 19 yards, one interception and a 16.7 passer rating — and the Bears might have the least impressive second-string quarterback performance of any team this preseason. The eye test on Halas Hall backfields hasn’t been much better — Walker has been inconsistent at best, riding a rollercoaster with steeper drops than even Fields.
Enter, perhaps, a (Tyson) Bagent provocateur.
In a surprise, the rookie from Div. II Shepherd University was the second Bears quarterback to play Saturday. He looked comfortable, too, in driving the Bears 92 yards on 17 plays in a 9:25 scoring drive that ended with his two-yard touchdown run. The NCAA’s all-time passing touchdown leader went 9-for-10 for 76 yards and a 98.3 passer rating, all in the second quarter.
Veteran Nathan Peterman — whom Bagent has outplayed some days at Halas Hall despite being six years younger — played the second half. He went 10-for-18 for 115 yards and was sacked on third-and-10 from the Colts’ 24 as he tried to throw into the end zone in the game’s final seconds.
General manager Ryan Poles sought out Walker this offseason, signing him to a two-year, $4.15 million contract with about half that guaranteed. His contract likely ensures that Walker is the Bears’ second-stringer in Week 1. But even having to ask the question is a bad sign for Walker.
The Bears knew what they were getting with Walker. He was 2-3 as the Panthers’ starter last year and already had a relationship with receiver DJ Moore and running back D’Onta Foreman. He knew Eberflus from spending 2018 on the Colts’ practice squad and the 2019 preseason with his team.
It’s been 13 seasons since the Bears last had a starting quarterback play every game in a season. Fields’ running ability — and willingness to take contact, rather than run out of bounds — makes it unlikely he becomes the next one. He played 88.7 percent of the Bears’ snaps in 2022 and 56.6 percent in 2021.
That’s what makes Walker’s struggles concerning, both in practices and games — the Bears need him to be better because they’re going to need him.