Tyson Bagent: Tattooed star wants Wales to support Chicago Bears

NFL quarterback Tyson Bagent's name isn't familiar to many in Wales, but it's a country that means a lot to the Chicago Bears signal-caller.

The 23-year-old from West Virginia also gained attention in Wales when photos of his tattoo began circulating on social media websites earlier this year.

Bagent has two Welsh tattoos on his chest, both paying homage to his Welsh-born grandfather, Dave Humphries.

“I've always been a big family man,” Bagent told BBC Sport Wales.

“My family has a Welsh background and he [his grandfather] I did it more specifically.

“My father said I could get a tattoo if my grandfather said okay, because he knew my grandfather wouldn’t say yes.

“My grandfather said, 'If you feel the same way in six months, you can take the plunge.'

“So, “Tulu.'' [family] It was my first tattoo when I was 17 years old. ”

A few years later, Bagent's grandfather died of cancer. Then, Bagent, who aspired to be an NFL quarterback, was inspired to get his second tattoo in Welsh.

“My grandfather was a pilot in his own small airliner and also loved fishing, so I took a portrait of him on a boat with a plane flying over the boat.

“Whenever he was in hospice, I recorded a lot of our last conversations and went to see him a few days before he died.

“One of the things he said, and it sounds trite, was, 'All my life I felt I was made to fly.' understood the phrase in Welsh under the boat.

“It symbolizes my grandfather and how much he meant to me and still means to me.”

The attention Bagent received online from people in Wales when he first talked about his tattoos didn't go unnoticed by the Bears' quarterback either.

Although Bagent says he doesn't often get asked about the meaning of his tattoos, he is pleased with the renewed attention from the country of his grandfather's birth and called on NFL fans in Wales to support Chicago. ing.

“I get a lot of questions about tattoos, but they're not as specific as why I have the Welsh word on my chest. They usually don't go that deep,” Bagent added.

“That was until I started getting into a big fuss on social media with a lot of people in Wales asking me why I had the tattoo.

“I love it. Let's all of Wales join us for the Chicago Bears.”

Bagent's path to becoming an NFL quarterback wasn't easy.

None of the nation's biggest colleges would give him a chance after high school, so Bagent instead enrolled at Division II College Shepherd near his hometown of Martinsburg.

There, Bagent completed 1,400 passes for 17,034 yards and 159 touchdowns, all records for a Division II quarterback.

After going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, he signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent and was listed as the third-choice quarterback to begin the season.

Before the Bears' Week 4 game against the Denver Broncos, Bagent was promoted to a backup role behind starter Justin Fields.

Two weeks later, Bagent was asked to make his NFL debut after Fields was injured during a game between Chicago and the Minnesota Vikings.

“Once college is over, you wonder if you'll ever be able to compete again. There's always that question,” Bagent said.

“Last season was a great season for me that was only looking up, and it made me love football even more.

“This has made me love the city of Chicago and the Bears, and I'm very proud of my family.

“That's always nice to me. If I can make people proud of what I do, whatever it is, I'm usually a very happy guy.”

The Bears parted ways with Fields, their first-choice quarterback since the end of the 2023 season, but they still hold the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday.

The Bears are expected to draft a new quarterback with this pick, and the name most commonly associated with the team is USC's Caleb Williams.

If the Bears use their first pick on a quarterback, Baigent will likely be the Bears' backup signal-caller again at the start of the new season.

Bagent said he is willing to do whatever it takes to bring success back to a team that hasn't won a Super Bowl since 1986 and hasn't played in sports' biggest game since 2007.

“Whoever comes here after the draft, I'm excited to get to know them and I'm excited to work with them and compete with them,” Bagent said.

“Whatever we can add to make the Bears a better team, I'm all for it. I know I'm ready and the other guys around me are ready as well.” I’m going to do my best.”

“I'm going to continue to work as hard as I can and try to be the best version of myself every day for the team.

“This is definitely going to be an exciting year for Chicago. I think we're going to win the Super Bowl.

“I'm going to keep saying that until it happens or it doesn't happen, but I'm definitely excited about this year.”