Most fans of NFL teams would hope that their quarterbacks are the best of friends with their receivers. A lot of the passing game in the NFL is based on mutual trust and chemistry, after all. Quarterbacks need to be able to throw the ball to a spot on the field and trust their target to run the right route, beat their guy, and make the catch. If they can't do that, the offense sputters.
It may surprise fans of the Chicago Bears, then, to learn that quarterback Tyson Bagent's favorite receiver is not D.J. Moore, or anyone else on the team. As he stated in a recent interview, his favorite receiver is Darnell Mooney, who left the Bears last offseason to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. You can see his full comments in the video below.
Knowing the type of guy and pro athlete that Bagent is (don't forget about his 'face-grinding' workout story from last offseason), it would make sense that he forged a permanent bond with Mooney when invited for a late-night private throwing session. As Bagent said, they got together at Chicago's indoor practice facility at 7:30 pm, just a few hours after a devastating loss to the Denver Broncos, and ran 150 passing reps together.
Even if Bagent was exaggerating that number just a bit, this private throwing session probably lasted a good three hours. It may have been midnight before either one of them got to bed.
Of course, none of this means that Bagent isn't on good terms with Moore, Rome Odunze, or the rest of Chicago's receivers. And the praise for Mooney is well-deserved. He proved to be a hard worker and good teammate while in Chicago, and just had the best season of his career after the move to Atlanta. There's a reason why many Bears fans view him as their favorite former Bear.
Bears fans will likely get to see plenty of Bagent once preseason games start up in August. He'll likely be in the thick of a position battle with Case Keenum for the backup QB spot and will need to play the best football of his life. But Caleb Williams remains QB1 for the Bears as we enter the 2025 season. If we see Bagent or Keenum take more than a few kneel-down snaps at the end of blowout wins, then something has gone seriously wrong for the Bears.
