LAKE FOREST, Ill. — OK, this is downright wild — the zone Tyson Bagent has entered. The sudden energy in his eyes, the bobs of his head, the juice pumping into the room.The Chicago Bears quarterback has been given only a month and a place — August 2025, Arrowhead Stadium — and he’s back inside a core memory.Bagent has no video to reference, no official game book as a cheat sheet. Yet with elite recall, he details how the Bears rallied to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 29-22 in their preseason finale last summer. Exactly how.At the dining room table of his suburban townhome, and from memory alone, Bagent rattles off vivid descriptions of all 10 plays from that game-winning drive. All 87 yards. From his first completion — 15 yards to wide receiver Jahdae Walker along the right sideline — to his final throw. Walker again. Six yards. Touchdown.Those bookends are easy to recall. The first Walker grab, ruled incomplete on the field, was overturned after replay review showed the rookie dragging his right cleat inside the sideline. “Best catch I’ve ever seen in person,” Bagent says.The touchdown pass, obviously, won the game. But how, with nothing but his memory, is Bagent also dead on in describing every snap in between?What is it like to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears?Dan PompeiPlay 3? “They overloaded us to the right,” he says. “I drifted (back), hit Joel.”Indeed, Bagent’s drift away from pressure helped create a 10-yard completion to tight end Joel Wilson.Play 7: “T. Scott! Right across the field,” Bagent says, beaming. “That was nice. We get the first down, and he gets out of bounds.”Checks out — an ultra-calm 13-yard connection to wide receiver Tyler Scott on a crosser.Play 8: “We hit Boykin. But that wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t the smartest play, because that went only 8 yards. Luckily, we got (a defensive penalty). Take the gain. Clock stops.”At this point, the cross-check is unnecessary but offers confirmation. Bagent hit wide receiver Miles Boykin for 8. The Bears are now down to the Chiefs’ 14. Eleven seconds left.Says Bears veteran quarterback Case Keenum: “Tyson’s got a little bit of that photographic memory. And I don’t know if ‘a little bit’ is doing it justice.”Indeed, nearly a year after that Friday night in Kansas City, Bagent absolutely rolls through this energizing slideshow, grateful for how that final drive unfolded, still amped by the celebration it uncorked and hyper-aware that it was the last stretch of meaningful game action he had.That’s partly why, this summer, Bagent’s fourth training camp has him so jacked up, his enthusiasm akin to a busload of kids unloading at a waterpark. Camp has become Bagent’s paradise. Preseason games are now his showcase.The heat and humidity, Bagent says, ignite him. The smell of the practice field grass pushes him toward his flow state. Habits solidify, confidence builds.The fatigue, physically and mentally, intoxicates Bagent.“I could f—— cry right now just talking about it,” he says. “I get so fired up.”To outsiders, August football may feel like just a tasting, cocktail hour before the big reception. For Bagent, this is his feast, his all-you-can-accomplish opportunity to showcase competence, growth, value, potential. For his teammates. To his coaches. As a resume for the rest of the NFL.Thus, no matter how many snaps Bagent takes Saturday in the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns or the following two weekends in road exhibitions versus the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans, Bagent will lock in with his own brand of focus.Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent, right, doesn’t want to back up Caleb Williams forever, even if it means playing elsewhere. (David Banks / Imagn Images)Admittedly, this has become an odd existence: this role of QB2 behind an established and ascending starter in Caleb Williams — particularly with Bagent’s self-assurance that he deserves a starting job somewhere.Yet in the Bears’ ideal world, the only snaps he’ll ever take during the regular season or playoffs will be garbage-time reps in blowout wins.Grueling days. Long weeks. Endless months in which Bagent’s engine is “Just in case.”Chew on this nugget. Bagent completed more passes on that preseason drive in Kansas City last summer (eight) than he did across the past two regular seasons combined (five).After throwing 2,400 passes across four seasons at Division II Shepherd University, Bagent has now gone almost three years since he last attempted 10 passes in a game that counts. Not even he, so enthusiastic and optimistic, can evade the frustration of that, the occasional bitterness and impatience that bubble up as he awaits a bigger opportunity.“I do feel all those things,” Bagent acknowledges. “As I get older, I know there’s a time limit on this whole thing. And I am itching, even maybe a little more, to get in the game.”Just as quickly, though, Bagent knows his gratitude is the tool to obliterate such feelings, reminding him of the journey he’s taken to this career peak. He is thankful, he says, for his brain, for his work ethic, for his love of the game and for the fact that he has never once felt burnt out.He credits his mom, Casey, for being so nurturing and his dad, Travis, for “constantly spewing life into whatever dream I was chasing.”Bagent is beyond proud that he’s just a kid from Martinsburg, W.Va., a product of Shepherd but now an established NFL quarterback and beloved member of one of the league’s charter franchises. And playing for one of the sport’s smartest offensive minds.“It’s silly,” he says. “You’re playing for the Chicago Bears. … Wonderful f—— gig.”Still, Bagent isn’t at all afraid to stay greedy, to chase so much more. He badly wants to win a Super Bowl. He believes he can one day become All-Pro.“I want everything the league can offer me while I’m here,” he says. “I’ll never be closer than I am right now.“I’m not gonna sit here and tell you I want to be a second- and third-string quarterback for the rest of my career.”Bagent isn’t just hopeful that a bigger opportunity will come. In his mind, it is inevitable. On that front, there is almost no dissent inside Halas Hall, where the 26-year-old quarterback’s approach has become model behavior and where an odd feeling percolates. No one wants to see Bagent ever leave. Everyone will be thrilled when he’s gone.“I just want what he wants,” Johnson says.Adds Keenum: “I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody work at the craft as hard as he does. It’s just in him.”Johnson has frequently told Bagent that he’s more than capable of being an NFL starter and, this offseason, when a sprinkling of calls came into Halas Hall checking into Bagent’s potential trade availability, it became obvious others around the league had taken note of the quarterback’s confidence; his high-end operational skills; the acclaim from so many coaches and teammates, past and present.“It’s hard here with our situation,” Johnson acknowledges. “Yet I admire the fact that he still competes every single day. He walks into this building (with the attitude of), ‘These guys are crazy. I’m better than Caleb.’ Like that is how he’s wired. And that’s how he needs to be wired.”Then-college quarterback Tyson Bagent, center, got some valuable face time with Eli and Peyton Manning as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy. (Courtesy of Peyton Manning)A year ago, even with an emerging franchise quarterback in Williams inside the building, general manager Ryan Poles slid a two-year, $10 million contract extension Bagent’s way and stamped it as “a reward for everything he stands for.” Effort plus attitude. Drive mixed with confidence. The kinds of things that offset ordinary arm strength and, as importantly, energize a locker room.Says Johnson: “He cares so deeply about doing it exactly the way you want it done.”Walker can’t get over how frequently Bagent dominates the Bears’ “Kahoot!” competitions, the digital quiz sessions used to test players’ knowledge of the offense.“A lot of times,” Walker says, “it’s not even close. I’m like, this dude knows everything about the offense. Formations. Plays. What’s this split? What’s this motion called? He knows it all.”Teammates describe Bagent as hungry, prepared, all business. “Just a joy to be around,” tight end Cole Kmet says.Outside the building, and at the pinnacle of the sport, similar feelings exist. A certain gold jacket-owning quarterback still appreciates the connection established four years ago when Bagent came to his passing academy as a counselor and how one casual invitation — “If I can ever be a resource, hit me up” — continues to come with follow-through.To five-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, it was far from surprising when Bagent’s latest request for guidance came with the Bears quarterback connecting in June, wondering how to establish a better routine to attack summer training.Manning told Bagent to put pen to paper, to be detailed with his weekly itinerary, with his daily plans for throwing and working out and to make sure that, somewhere in the bridge between minicamp and training camp, he built in enough time to truly detach and recharge.“I’m always impressed when young guys show they are willing to learn,” Manning says. “I was that way. Any chance I had to be around a Dan Marino or a Troy Aikman — and of course, my dad was always a great sounding board — I was always looking to pick their brains. It’s fun for me to help Tyson whenever he reaches out.”In May, Bagent returned to Shepherd to speak at the university’s commencement ceremony and was intent on sharing some of his knowledge. Sure, he had walked that stage only three springs earlier and was still a month shy of his 26th birthday, but the eight-minute homily he offered that day came with passion and wisdom more fitting of a sage twice his age.“Nobody cares about your goals as much as you do,” Bagent told the graduates. “Nobody is going to wake you up, push you every day and hold you accountable like you can.”This was speak-from-experience direction, from a pro who remembers, as a kid, frequently scaling an eight-foot fence at the local high school to work on his own and using the waters of the local stream for his makeshift ice baths.Bagent also shared his realization that it was never statistical production or high-level recognition or an NFL jersey he was actually seeking but rather the satisfaction that came from pouring himself into the pursuit of excellence.He noted the growth he has experienced from “early mornings, late nights, sacrifices that nobody sees,” as well as the thicker skin he’s developed from his failures, doubts and ability to keep responding.“The real world doesn’t just reward talent,” he said. “It rewards consistency, discipline, resilience. It rewards the people who show up when they don’t feel like it, who keep going when things don’t go their way, who are willing to bet on themselves when no one else does.”Finally, there was this ready-made inspiration fuel.“The world doesn’t need more people who are comfortable. It needs people who are driven, disciplined and willing to lead.”Bagent’s current coach and mentor considers that insight and smiles wide. “Tyson,” Johnson says, “embodies that to a T.”Entering his fourth season in the NFL, Tyson Bagent feels free to speak his mind inside the locker room, to let teammates know when they’re not upholding the standard. (Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)Johnson, of course, has a little bit of drive, discipline and leadership chops himself. Which is probably why he and Bagent instantly clicked.It’s also why, rather than steer into free agency when his first contract expired, Bagent signed that early extension to stick with the Bears through 2027, convinced his union with Johnson will exponentially aid his career longevity.Says Bears quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett: “They’re both bright individuals. I think, for Tyson, that ability to bounce ideas around or just ask questions, with Ben being able to have answers ready for him, he enjoys that thought process.“Tyson wants to get better. He wants to be coached hard. If there’s something he could be doing better, he wants it said. And he takes it well. Like, there is zero back-and-forth tension.”Johnson believes he and Bagent are “kindred spirits” and gushes about his backup quarterback as “an elite competitor,” “a sponge” and “a stud.”“I just know I sleep well at night, knowing we have an elite backup on this roster.”Bagent has his own laudatory labels for Johnson. Mental giant. Lock box. “The most prepared dude in the room at all times.”And as he traces through all the coaches from high school until now who each gave him a little something to fuel his development — from David Walker and Britt Sherman at Martinsburg High School; on to Ernie McCook, Tye Hiatt, Jesse Correll and Tyler Haines at Shepherd; to Luke Getsy and Thomas Brown with the Bears — Bagent arrives at his current QB compass and again lights up.“The Holy Grail of them all!” he says. “Ben Johnson comes marching into town.”Bagent is deeply appreciative of the sophisticated football acumen Johnson possesses and how smoothly he delivers it to players across every position.Beyond that, Bagent has been enamored by Johnson’s to-the-point communication methods and how commanding his presence inside a meeting room has been since he arrived.“He completely shocked the culture inside that building,” Bagent says.Standards were not only suggested but cemented. Immediately.With every task of every day, Johnson believes there’s a championship way to attack things. And then there’s everything else.“The way he handles everybody is so black and white,” Bagent says. “Like, I didn’t know it could even be black and white at this level with all the money and everything involved. But Ben has a way of working so hard it clarifies everything for everybody.”Maybe it’s the way Johnson has “no fear of status,” bold in the way he’ll call out players. For tardiness to treatment. For on-field carelessness. For anything, really.Bagent always listens intently when Johnson starts meetings with poignant stories or personal anecdotes or passages from a book he recently read. The themes are always timely.He has seen the direct manner with which Johnson presents data or video evidence to let an entire position group know they need to elevate their play. Plus, Johnson isn’t just this way with players. Bagent says he has never been around a coach who is even harder on his assistants.“It’s awesome,” he says.Now, suddenly, Bagent is standing and pacing. He is role-playing, in Johnson’s shoes at the front of a meeting with his chest out and voice amplifying as the offense reviews an unacceptable walkthrough miscue.His eyes dart across the room as he pretends to challenge Barrett on a slip-up by one of the quarterbacks.Did you f—— guys go over that today? Did y’all even talk through that?Bagent’s eyes are the size of toast plates and he’s laughing now.“(It’s) just very ‘Bam!’ On it! And, God forbid, if J.T. says no? Ohhhhhhh! Oh. My. God.”Is it any wonder Bagent now feels some pull to one day coach? Or that, on the regular, he feels his own voice gaining authority?Somehow, he says, the birth of his daughter, Leni June, last October unlocked a freedom to speak his mind inside the locker room, to let teammates know when they’re not upholding the standard.Maybe a teammate is openly complaining about that day’s workload.“And I’m like, ‘Yo! Stop being a p—-!” Bagent says. “‘You don’t want to be here? You don’t want to do this? What the f— are you even talking about?’”On occasion, Bagent may identify a pass catcher being lazy on a route. In the past, he’d anticipate the eventual coaching reprimand.“Now,” he says, “I’m like, ‘Hey, m———–, what are you doing? You’re ruining your life!’”No one enjoys preseason football more than Tyson Bagent, right, celebrating with tight end Joel Wilson. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)Maybe all this explains why the juice inside the huddle and on the sideline was so elevated that Friday in Kansas City last summer. With the finish line of the preseason in sight, a powerful feeling of presence emanated.Absolutely no one had checked out.There was business to finish. A game to win.Johnson was dialed in. Walker had a roster spot to secure. Bagent had his chance to punctuate what Bears coaches felt was a brilliant preseason. By Johnson’s description, it was the best compilation of training camp and preseason tape from a quarterback he had ever been around.That final drive was the closing argument.After nine plays, the Bears marched inside the 10-yard line, at the Chiefs’ 6 with seven seconds remaining. Kansas City called a timeout, and Bagent joined Johnson to strategize.“Fastball situation,” they agreed, meaning two shots at the end zone were necessary. The first would have to be an up-and-down pass to preserve at least one second. The ball needed to go in one direction, too.“We agreed Jahdae was playing at a pretty high level,” Bagent says, “so we put him to the boundary (side) — easier throw to a guy who’s got the hot hand.”Bagent’s photographic memory is clicking again.He’s back in the huddle urging Walker to be ready, then in shotgun re-enacting his quick-game footwork and the fade he threw over defensive back Ajani Carter.“Snuck it by the dude’s ear hole,” Bagent says.Beautiful ball. Touchdown. Bagent won’t soon forget the entire team’s eruption. Damn, if that wasn’t purpose personified.Walker, immediately needed for kickoff coverage, somehow lost his helmet in the celebratory chaos and had to borrow another.“I end up running down with this bobblehead helmet that didn’t fit me,” Walker says. “I could barely see when I made that last tackle.”Keenum, now in his 15th season and nine years removed from his iconic playoff game-winning TD pass to Stefon Diggs in the “Minneapolis Miracle,” describes the rush of Bagent’s preseason moment at Arrowhead with similar appreciation and zeal.“Anybody who’s been around ball for a while knows there are these unspoken feelings that go on,” Keenum says. “Whatever you call it — atmosphere, an energy, a vibe — that was there that night. It’s just like you know what’s about to happen. Everybody in the whole place knows what’s about to happen. And then it happens, and you’re like, ‘Wow! How did that just happen?’“That’s what’s so great about football. You have so many guys from so many different walks of life, all working together for this common goal. And when it comes together in harmony like that? Man, it’s romantic.”Naturally, Keenum is among those who can’t wait for Bagent to be back on stage this month, no matter how minimal this preseason spotlight may seem.As Johnson puts it, “There’s magic when he’s out there.”Bagent embraces it all — this opportunity, the excitement, his responsibilities. Nothing revs him up quite like the present. But he’s certain this road is carrying him toward a glorious future.“This has been a crazy journey,” Bagent says. “It’s been like an underdog story. But it has also never felt like that. I’ve always felt like I was the man and that this was going to happen.”His next chapter awaits.