“Sometimes you report things teams don’t want you to report”: Ian Rapoport reveals Ben Johnson’s ploy to mislead teams over Chicago Bears starter

Ben Johnson is a first-time head coach. He led the Chicago Bears to an 11-6 season record in 2025. He also led the team to first place in the NFC North. The Bears won the 2025 NFC North division title.Caleb Williams was unstoppable under Ben Johnson’s guidance: 3,900+ yards, 27 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Johnson probably intends to carry that same approach into his second year as the first-time head coach of Chicago. How does he do that? By not revealing who his starting quarterback is!Now, his 2026 chapter brought a calamity he didn't have in 2025: Caleb Williams got injured.Williams took care of himself throughout the 2025 season. But two games into the 2026 season, he rekindled a college injury: a grade 2 hamstring. This must have left Ben Johnson looking for different ways to trick other teams. How does he do that? NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed just hours ago to everyone!Ian Rapoport reveals Ben Johnson’s ploy to mislead teams over Bears starterWeek 1 starter: Caleb Williams. Week 2: Caleb Williams. Week 3: With Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent both injured, Case Keenum started. Week 4: Ben Johnson declined to name the starter. Analysts reported that Tyson Bagent would start.But just to stir things up, Case Keenum showed up for the first snap while Tyson Bagent lined up at receiver. What happened next? Keenum quietly left the gridiron and Bagent led the team to a Week 4 victory over the New York Jets.“Well, I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement, so I wanted to get Case out there,” said Johnson. “It was like his ceremonial first pitch out there. Handing off the torch.”Or, it could also mean that the coach wanted to carry forward Case Keenum’s luck factor! That helped the Chicago Bears win the Week 3 game over the much-dreaded Philadelphia Eagles. You never know.Now that Week 5 is here and reports about who’s going to start in Chicago have already started puzzling media houses and other NFL teams, NFL insider Ian Rapoport has revealed Ben Johnson’s ploy very conveniently.Tyson Bagent expected to start against Green BayNFL insider Ian Rapoport reported just hours ago that Tyson Bagent is expected to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5. Caleb Williams remains away from his return. He could return to practice next week. Ian Rapoport later revealed Ben Johnson’s ploy.The head coach had previously avoided confirming Tyson Bagent as the starter. Instead, the coach very cunningly used Case Keenum at quarterback and Tyson Bagent at receiver on the opening snap of the Week 4 game. This little stunt could technically help the coach say that both quarterbacks were starters.Ian Rapoport praised Ben Johnson’s good-natured handling of the QB starter situation. He noted that teams sometimes try to hide information from reporters.So clues don’t reach opponents to help them decide on a specific QB-based game plan!“Okay, so this week, and I say this week very specifically, Tyson Bagent is expected to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Seems like Caleb Williams is still a couple of weeks away. So not going to play this week. Perhaps able to practice next week,” said Ian Rapoport via NFL Network.“The reason I say that so specifically since last week, there was a lot of reporting by me and some others as well that Tyson Bagent would be the starter.Ben Johnson declined to say that that was the case, and then the first snap happened, and you had Case Keenum at starting quarterback, but Tyson Bagent at receiver - just so Ben Johnson could say, ‘Look, I said I would start both quarterbacks. I said, I consider them both starters. Look, they're both starters.’And I will say, as someone who covers this and knows this, that sometimes you can report things the teams don't want you to report. I very much appreciated the good-natured way that Ben Johnson handled this and also kind of funny, really.”Long story short: Tyson Bagent is expected to start Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers. But we never know; maybe Case Keenum will come back and stay for the game this time? Unpredictable Ben Johnson!Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.