Emergency Bears-Steelers trade proposal to help Chicago replace Caleb Williams

The Chicago sports scene was slammed with injuries on Sunday. First Alex Bregman was hit in the face by a foul ball as he was in the on-deck spot ahead of his at-bat during the Chicago Cubs' game against the Cincinnati Reds. Not too long after that, Caleb Williams went down with a non-contact injury to his left leg during the Chicago Bears' game against the Minnesota Vikings. It was later revealed to be a hamstring strain rather than a more serious injury, like a torn hamstring or even worse, torn Achilles. While the Bears dodged one of the worse outcomes, they still need insurance under center if Williams isn’t ready for Week 3.

Tyson Bagent is slated to start for Chicago if Williams isn’t available, but he might not be the best option if Williams’ injury keeps him out longer than the Bears are expecting. Here’s who they could turn to and why it makes sense for them to lean on a veteran backup. 

Chicago turns to Steelers’ Mason Rudolph for emergency depth

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a surplus of quarterbacks and the Chicago Bears have a need for a veteran backup for short term assistance. Mason Rudolph makes sense for a couple of reasons. For one, they get a player that is good enough to be a stopgap while Williams recovers. Bagent doesn’t have a lot of experience, compared to Rudolph. Bagent hasn’t played more than five games in a season since his rookie season in 2023. Since then, he hasn’t thrown more than 10 passes in a single season as well. 

It would be fairly inexpensive to land Rudolph considering he’s not the best backup on the market. The Bears have to consider this if they want to ensure their offense doesn’t have a lapse while Williams is out. That’s not to say that Ben Johnson couldn’t get the most out of Bagent, but Rudolph is a more reliable option and if nothing more, gives them depth as well. 

Why Pittsburgh should trade Mason Rudolph before the trade deadline

Pittsburgh has a litany of quarterbacks to choose from should Aaron Rodgers get hurt. While Rudolph has shown to be serviceable in a pinch, that doesn’t mean they should keep him around when they don’t really need to. Drew Allar and Will Howard are very inexperienced, but Allar has shown to be a decent option to have if you need him. If Pittsburgh is looking at one of these two players as the incumbent to Rodgers, they have to give them a chance and offloading Rudolph will give them a chance to see if there’s something worth building around or if they need to evaluate the quarterback position more this offseason. 

Rudolph has had a pretty successful career as a backup which is why Pittsburgh should cash in on that. There’s no need for Pittsburgh to keep him through the trade deadline and if the Bears start shopping around for a backup quarterback, the Steelers should be one of the first to call to offload a respectable backup and give Chicago the insurance it needs. 

Why Mason Rudolph is a better backup option than Tyson Bagent

Ben Johnson was able to turn Jared Goff into one of the better NFL quarterbacks when he was the offensive coordinator in Detroit. He could very well do the same with Bagent in an interim status, though Rudolph might be the better backup to work with. Rudolph has multiple 1,000-plus passing yard seasons and has started numerous times throughout his career as well. It will be easier for Johnson to plug him into that offense than it might be Bagent, though Bagent has the leg up of being part of this offense for the last two years now. Where Rudolph might hold Chicago back is he’s not necessarily a mobile quarterback. He can move when he needs to, but he’s not like Williams where if all else fails he’s going to scramble.

The Bears offense doesn’t need to have a quarterback that can create with their legs, though. They just need one that can get the ball to their playmakers. Between Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze, this might be the better receiving core Rudolph has played with since he was drafted. Quarterback depth is key in the NFL and with Williams’ return uncertain, trading for Rudolph is the safer option in the interim. 

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