Caleb Williams has a Grade 1 hamstring strain, Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol, and the Bears could start Case Keenum on Monday Night Football
Chicago's Week 3 quarterback situation is a mess. Williams is week-to-week after being carted off against the Vikings, his top backup is in concussion protocol, and a 38-year-old journeyman might be starting against the Eagles.
In brief
The Bears' quarterback room is in freefall four days before Monday Night Football
Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field ended as well as it possibly could have and still ended terribly. Bears coach Ben Johnson confirmed Monday that Caleb Williams is week-to-week with a right hamstring injury he sustained midway through the fourth quarter of Chicago's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The good news: an MRI revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. The bad news keeps compounding.
Tyson Bagent had been positioned as Chicago's next option after replacing Williams against Minnesota, but if Bagent cannot clear concussion protocol and Williams remains unavailable, Case Keenum would become the Bears' starting quarterback against the Eagles. Keenum is 38. He is 30-36 in 66 career starts but hasn't played since 2023. This is where a Super Bowl contender finds itself on a Wednesday afternoon in late September.
Williams suffered the injury in the final minutes of the Bears' 9-3 Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The quarterback went down without contact after he took off for a scramble and was yelling in pain. He was helped off the field and was eventually carted to the locker room. The scene looked grim. NFL insider Tom Pelissero wrote Monday on X that Williams "avoided any major injury to his hamstring Sunday, tests confirmed today," calling it "a massive sigh of relief in Chicago." Then Johnson spoke, and the relief got a little smaller.
"It sounds like it's gonna be a week-to-week deal for him," Johnson said on ESPN 1000. "I gotta still talk with our trainer here, we'll do that here shortly, and I'll have the lowdown from him, but it sounds like it's week-to-week but will likely miss some time."
Johnson said that he does not believe that Williams will practice this week but did not rule him out from starting against the Eagles on Monday night. That game kicks off at 7:15 p.m. CT Monday, Sept. 28, at Soldier Field. The injury report that will give the clearest picture of his status is not due until Thursday, since it is a Monday game.
How it happened, and what it cost Chicago
Williams was injured when he scrambled around left end on a first-and-goal play from the 6-yard line with the Bears trailing 6-3. The outing snapped his Bears record of eight straight games with at least two touchdown passes.
Prior to leaving the game, Williams had completed 15 of 26 passes for 138 yards and was sacked three times. He also rushed for 42 yards on five attempts. The offense managed three points total. That is the bigger problem. The Bears are 1-1 after scoring 59 points in the season opener and just 3 against the Vikings. Now they face a 2-0 Eagles team without knowing who their quarterback will be.
Bagent took over at quarterback and nearly led a late comeback, but Cairo Santos had a 23-yard field goal attempt blocked to finish the drive during which Williams was injured. Bagent went 5-for-9 for 54 yards on two late drives but was unable to rally the Bears back.
Who is Tyson Bagent, exactly
If Williams is out and Bagent clears protocol, Chicago turns to a backup who has barely thrown an NFL pass in two full seasons. With Williams starting every game since joining the Bears, Bagent has attempted only six regular-season passes since the start of the 2024 season. He looked sharp in the preseason. That is cold comfort when Bagent has attempted only six regular-season passes since 2024, though he did post preseason passer ratings of 119.9 in 2024, 106.6 in 2025, and 119.3 in 2026.
Johnson is not panicking publicly. "I would be a lot more concerned if I didn't have a year-and-a-half under our belts together now," Johnson said of Bagent. "We've had a lot of reps during the course of training camp and in the preseason. So, if it goes that route, I feel strongly about what he's capable of."
Right guard Jonah Jackson backed that up. "He's got full confidence in himself," Jackson said. "We've got full confidence in him. We know he can dink-and-dunk the ball around and sling it and also get after it with his feet."
Still. A concussion protocol is not a formality. If Bagent does not clear it in time, the Bears' third-string quarterback is 14-year veteran Case Keenum, who has previously spent time with the Texans, Rams, Vikings, Broncos, Washington, Browns, and Bills, and is 30-36 in 66 career starts but has not played since 2023.
What Williams means to this team
The 24-year-old helped the Bears win the NFC North in 2025, throwing for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, along with 388 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Chicago came into 2026 as a legitimate conference contender. Two weeks in, the offense has looked inconsistent even with Williams healthy, and given the fragility of hamstring injuries, the Bears could play it cautiously. An injury that returns with a tweak if not properly healed could linger all season. With a soft-tissue injury, it will be interesting to see how willing Williams is to scamper when he returns.
NBC Sports' Mike Florio and Chris Simms noted Wednesday that the team has reason to be patient with Williams rather than rush him back. The Bears must be cautious with their promising quarterback. That is easier said than done against a 2-0 Eagles team at home on national television.
Chicago now has to monitor both Williams and Bagent while preparing Keenum for the possibility of an unexpected Week 3 start. Johnson's injury report on Thursday will set the table. Until then, the Bears are practicing with a 38-year-old who last suited up three years ago sitting third on the depth chart and, potentially, one failed concussion eval away from a starting nod.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
