Who is Tyson Bagent? What to know about Bears starting QB in Week 7 vs. Raiders, including his well-known dad – CBS Sports

It’s an NFL matchup few would have predicted: Tyson Bagent vs. Brian Hoyer. It is not exactly Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, but it is rather interesting, given the experience and history of these two Sunday starters.

While Hoyer is an NFL veteran and has played for nine teams since 2009 — including multiple stints with two of those — Bagent is about to make his first start in the league. The 23-year-old was only 9 when Hoyer joined the league and will now be competing against him in a Week 7 showdown.

If you don’t know much about Bagent, don’t worry, you are not alone. We have you covered with everything you need to know about the 2023 undrafted player.

High school and college 

Bagent went to Martinsburg High School in West Virginia before attending Shepherd from 2018 to 2022. He became the starting quarterback for the Shepherd Rams as a freshman and in his first game with the team he threw for 518 yards, going 36-for-54 with three touchdowns, putting himself in the record books at the college.

His resume includes being a two-time first-team DII All-American, Mountain East Conference (MEC) Offensive Player of the Week and first-team All-MEC.

He holds the NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a career (159) — a record for all divisions — and holds over 20 school records, including most touchdowns responsible for in a single game (7), most games with 300+ passing yards in a single season (11), most passing yards in a single season (5,000) and most touchdown passes in a career (159).

After college, Bagent participated in the NFL Combine, but was not selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears and made the 53-man roster at the conclusion of the preseason.

Bagent joined the team as the third string QB behind starter Justin Fields and veteran backup Nathan Peterman. He was named the backup and made his NFL debut in Week 6 at home against the Minnesota Vikings after Fields went out with an injury.

In his NFL debut, he went 10-for-14 with 83 yards, one rushing touchdown, one interception and one fumble. 

Bagent’s arm-wrestling champion dad

Bagent comes from an athletic family and his father Travis — nicknamed ‘The Beast’ — is a 17-time champion professional arm wrestler. Travis sees himself as the greatest in the sport and raised his son with an athletic focus.

“Super hands-on and super competitive,” Tyson said (via ESPN), describing his dad.

Travis Bagent started competing as an arm-wrestler while playing baseball at Shepherd. He has won over 15 world and 25 national championships as a professional during his career. He has been featured in the reality series “Game of Arms” and the documentary “Pulling John.” Bagent’s grandfather, Jerry Boyd, was also a champion arm wreslter.

Tyson said he did foresee his NFL career and the work ethic he learned from his father was a major focus on his journey.

“Yeah, oddly I always thought it was gonna happen,” Bagent said of having an athletic career. “I think really me and my dad were the only ones who thought this was gonna happen. After that, it was just figuring out how I could outwork everybody that maybe had more things than I did.”

If football did not work out, Tyson had a backup plan, saying he would, “… Crossfit my life away … just get as ripped and jacked as I possibly could and be a teacher at Martinsburg High School.”

Instead of going with his backup plan, Tyson is a backup quarterback.