The Las Vegas Raiders made some ugly history on Sunday. They became the first organization to lose a game to an undrafted rookie quarterback from a Division II school since 1950. Tyson Bagent was not intimidated by them. The Chicago Bears rookie executed a balanced game plan, keeping the offense on schedule with quick, smart decisions and accurate passes. It wasn’t anything special, but it was well-executed. Bagent led four scoring drives, including two in the second half that drained almost 15 minutes of clock between them.
If that weren’t humiliating enough for the Raiders, they might not like hearing that one of their own helped set the whole thing up. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune explained.
“General manager Ryan Poles credited Tom Bradway, a young area scout hired in May 2022 from the Raiders, and co-director of player personnel Jeff King for their efforts in scouting Bagent in Shepherdstown, W.Va., way off the beaten path in the college football world. Poles dropped their names before the season started when explaining why the team elected to keep Bagent and cut loose P.J. Walker, the veteran they had guaranteed $2 million.”
Bradway joined the Raiders in June of 2019 as a player personnel scout. A year later, he became a BLESTO scout for them. BLESTO is a privately run company that collects data on draft prospects that NFL teams send scouts to for experience. When the Raiders underwent their regime change in 2022, Bradway left to join the Bears as their new Northeast area scout. A year later, his efforts led them to Bagent.
Tyson Bagent likely gained Bradway tons of credibility.
It’s often difficult for young scouts to earn respect in an organization. Bradway was a newcomer to Chicago, having only arrived in May of 2022. GM Ryan Poles wasn’t sure what to expect. That was reflected in the fact the Bears didn’t draft a single player from the northeast region. That didn’t deter Bradway, who was instrumental in scouting Bagent and luring him to Chicago. The quarterback’s head coach at Shepherd said he and Jeff King were part of the reason Bagent signed with the Bears. They made their interest known from the start.
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Not only did Bradway find a player that helped the Bears win, but that player was a quarterback. This organization has an ugly history with that position. Tyson Bagent looks like a rare victory for the scouting department. It is so fitting that his first start came against the team that Bradway had to leave because they made changes to the department. One must imagine he felt at least a little pleasure seeing Bagent lead the 30-12 beatdown on Sunday.
