The Chicago Bears made a bit of a surprise move in their quarterbacks room on Sunday.
Per a report from Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bears have released veteran backup quarterback P.J. Walker. The former XFL star joined the Bears earlier this offseason on a two-year pact worth $4.15 million to presumably back up starter Justin Fields.
As noted by Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, this strongly indicates that undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent will be the Bears’ QB2, though backup Nathan Peterman remains on the roster.
Bagent spent his entire college football career with the Shepherd Rams, a Division II team that plays in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Last season, Bagent tossed 4,580 yards for 41 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.
The 28-year-old Walker played college football at Temple from 2013 to 2016. He joined the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in the league’s revival for 2020. The season was shut down early because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Walker finished as the XFL leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
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Walker then joined the Carolina Panthers, where he played from 2020 to 2022. He went 4-3-0 as Carolina’s starter over those three years with a 57.5 completion percentage for 1,461 yards and five touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
The Panthers opted not to bring back Walker nor Sam Darnold (he started six games) after the season. They used the No. 1 selection of this year’s draft on Alabama QB Bryce Young and added former Pro Bowler Andy Dalton to serve as the backup.
