Scrambling for a Quarterback: Of Backups and Non-Controversies

P.J. Walker—previously with the Carolina Panthers—entered the NFL in 2020, and since that time, he has thrown 228 pass attempts and managed a passer rating of 63.9 (ANY/A 3.83). His 6.4 yards per attempt have been pedestrian to say the least, but he has played 493 snaps and made 7 starts. In the preseason thus far, he has posted a 14.6 passer rating by going 5/12 for 25 yards with no touchdowns and a single interception.

In that same time, Nathan Peterman has thrown 30 pass attempts and managed a passer rating of 69.3. Not only is this double the passer rating he managed in Buffalo, it is better than what Walker has done in the same time. However, his 5.5 yards per attempt have been less impressive, and his 3.24 ANY/A is a paltry number even for a backup quarterback. Perhaps more importantly, he has only played 59 snaps and made 1 start. As noted, this does leave out his disastrous performance for the Buffalo Bills, but it also likely more accurately reflects the quarterback he has become. In this preseason, Peterman has managed a 94.6 passer rating by going 14/24 with 173 yards and a single passing touchdown to no interceptions.

If the decision were simply down to Walker vs Peterson, then it would be a simple matter of comparing an objectively bad quarterback with more recent game experience to the slightly better (but still bad) quarterback with less recent game experience and a brutal history.

However, it is not down to those two men. There is also the case of Tyson Bagent, who has probably won almost every “my dad can beat up your dad” showdown he has ever faced. However, he has no NFL history. His preseason for the Chicago Bears has been impressive, though, posting a 98.1 passer rating by going 13/15 with 113 yards (with no touchdowns or interceptions on his passing record). To put his passer rating into context, here are the NFL players with a better passer rating in preseason than he has earned in either of his games:

I honestly might have missed a few. I thought when I started pulling up game box scores I’d have a few examples for the sake of humor and maybe a dozen total names. Oops.

So, is Bagent playing well? Absolutely. In fact, he’s almost playing as well as Tommy DeVito and can even imagine a day that his preseason performance catches up with Drew Lock, Shane Buechele, or Nathan Rourke. Maybe even Kyle Trask.

Some of these performances have been starters feasting on backups, sure. The reality is that there are at least a few names on that list who are probably headed for a practice squad with their fanbases convinced that other teams are poised to scoop them up should they be cut. The very small number of passes fans see during preseason games should be relatively meaningless compared to what the teams see in practice and (more importantly) what the quarterbacks in question bring to the overall equation.

Bagent might end up a really good backup or even starter someday. However, if so it will not be because of how has has performed thus far in the preseason.