LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Who is the Bears’ starting quarterback in Week 4 against the New York Jets at Soldier Field?

“We’ll find out on Sunday,” coach Ben Johnson said. 

That’s right. The fun and games continued on Friday at Halas Hall.

Here’s everything you need to know in Week 4 about the Bears, from the podium to the locker room to the injury report before kickoff. 

1. Ben Johnson seemed to really enjoy the gamesmanship he played with his quarterback decision. 

Just look at his smile during his news conferences.

Or listen to his variety of answers.

He ruled out Caleb Williams (hamstring) for Sunday. That was expected, though. He just won’t publicly say who is starting between Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum.

“And then let me throw Miller Moss into the mix, too,” Johnson said with a smile. “There we go.”

Johnson typically doesn’t operate this way. He announced who is starting at left tackle, for example. (More on that later). But this is also the first time he’s had a quarterback decision to make since taking over the Bears. So he clearly seized and reveled in his opportunity to provide the Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn – a friend and former colleague with the Detroit Lions – with more work to do this week. 

The practice windows that are open to the media were also shortened during the week so the Bears’ direction at quarterback wasn’t tipped. Both quarterbacks also met the media outside the locker room on Thursday. 

“There is such a thing as playing the hot hand,” Johnson said on Friday. “That is real. We’re certainly taking that into consideration. And yet, there’s a body of work that goes into it as well. There’s a lot of factors at play, and we certainly have talked about it as a coaching staff. 

“Honestly, it’s split, if you just ask each coach one-on-one what they think, it’s split. I don’t know that there’s necessarily a right answer or a wrong answer in terms of how we go about this thing. Both of them are well prepared to play and win a game for us here, so I’m excited about that.”

2. That said, all the signs do seem to be pointing to Tyson Bagent getting the start against the Jets.

He’s their No. 2 quarterback.

He should get the start.

But there’s also no denying that the past few weeks have been tough for Bagent because of his injuries, not notably the concussion he suffered in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. Bagent said he didn’t start feeling like himself until the Saturday before the Bears played the Eagles on Monday Night Football. He was then cleared on Sunday for that game. Before that, Bagent dealt with hamstring and back issues.

“I’ve never had to deal with something like that, so to have three of them back to back to back was certainly uncomfortable,” Bagent said. “Because the best ability is availability, and so when you’re not available, you feel like you’re not earning your pay, at least that’s how I felt. So (it’s) not a good feeling, but you just got to continue to take care of the body and put the best foot forward and not really think about the injuries too much.”

3. Facing Jets quarterback Geno Smith would be a dream come true for Tyson Bagent on Sunday. 

Bagent grew up a fan of West Virginia University, where Smith played from 2009-12. Bagent is from Martinsburg, W.V.

“One hundred percent,” Bagent said. “I was a big West Virginia University fan up until about the age of 12, so him, Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, one of the most exciting Big 12 offenses to ever exist. So it is very cool to be able to see him on the other side of the ball.’

4. There is no quarterback drama at Halas Hall. 

Case Keenum is 100 percent behind Tyson Bagent if he starts.

And Keenum doing everything he can – as he usually does – to help.

“It’s a group effort,” Keenum said. “We go in and prepare like a team of quarterbacks every week. We watch film together, we see it the same way, we talk through it, we quiz each other. I ask him – I mean, Tyson’s the encyclopedia in there – what’s backside on this route? Oh, that’s right, we changed it from this to that. And same thing. I quiz him about stuff, ‘Hey, what do you got on this? What’s this? What’s this?’ Then we’re both quizzing Caleb when he’s rolling.

“So it’s a great team effort in there. Every week we’re prepared, preparing each other to get ready to go.”

5. Theo Benedet will start at left tackle with Braxton Jones injured and Ozzy Trapilo still regaining his strength and getting into football shape.

Ben Johnson didn’t play coy with his left-tackle situation. There’s really no need to be. Jones is out with a knee injury. 

“We’re still working out Ozzy just to make sure that the confidence is back,” Johnson said. “He’s looking better each and every week. Like I said, he was one of those guys in Wednesday night’s practice in pads that he stood out in a good way. I think he’s going the right way and he might be available sooner rather than later. It’s not going to be this week. We’re gonna go with Theo this week.”

6. This matchup is extra intriguing because Ben Johnson cut his play-calling teeth against Jets coach Aaron Glenn in practice with the Lions.

Johnson and Glenn both became head-coach candidates on Dan Campbell’s staff. The better the Lions played, the more appealing both of them became for other teams – and for different reasons. Johnson fielded one of the best offenses in the NFL for Detroit, while Glenn’s demeanor and defensive success won over the Jets.

“He certainly lights a fire under you,” Johnson said. “I still remember to this day being next to him in training camp, and you can hear him – you can hear him. And when the defense makes a play, he lets you know. And so that shaped me a little bit as a young play-caller there. And that really hasn’t changed him, that’s who he is. He gets excited, he gets into it.”

After three weeks, Glenn’s Jets defense ranks second in total yards, seventh in rushing and third in passing. 

“I think this is a different defense than what he had in Detroit, from a personnel perspective and certainly the scheme as well,” Johnson said. “So that’s what makes it really challenging here, too. This guy, he’s a darn good football coach schematically. And we only have three games of him calling it right now. And each game, he’s got a little bit different flavor. And so he’s going to make it really difficult on us. And we got to be able to adjust here this week.”

7. Another interesting sidebar this week is defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s relationship with Jets coach Aaron Glenn.

It’s best to let Allen explain. 

It goes back decades.

“No. 1, I played with Aaron Glenn at (Texas) A&M,” Allen said. “I coached Aaron Glenn his last season in New Orleans. And then he and I worked on the same staff there in New Orleans. I’ve got a lot of respect for AG. He’s a tough, feisty competitor. He works extremely hard. I know in New Orleans there were a lot of times I’d show up early in the morning and he’d already be in there with the lights off grinding on the tape. When I got ready to leave late at night, he was still in there grinding the tape. 

“What he’s accomplished throughout his career has not been just God-given ability. It’s been a guy that’s got incredible work ethic and you can see his fingertips on their team. I think their team is a very tough, competitive football team. So we know we’ve got our work cut out for us in all three phases. We know that this is going to be a 60-minute game and we know that we have to bring our A-game if we expect to come out with a win.”

8. Nickel back Kyler Gordon is now undergoing “a stress test” in practice.

He remains on the PUP list. But his return feels near after dealing with a calf issue.

On Friday, Ben Johnson provided his most expansive comments on Gordon in months.

“We had an extended practice on Wednesday to get some of these guys on PUP and some of the young guys some extra work in pads,” Johnson said. “He looked good. It was encouraging. I call it a stress test right now and we’ll see how well he holds up here over the next few weeks.”

Step One, according to Johnson, is making sure Gordon is healthy and there’s no setbacks over the course of his 21-day practice window. 

“He’s a phenomenal football player and we have just been in a struggle – everybody has been in a struggle – to get him out there,” Johnson said. “He’s out there now. I am more than happy to talk about anybody that is out on the field and he’s out there right now. We’re excited about what the future could possibly hold. 

“But it’s a matter of putting in a good day’s work every single day, stacking consecutive days up and we’ll take it from there. He’s a very talented player. He always has been. It’s just unfortunate since we got in the building a year-and-a-half ago, we haven’t had him available very much and so we’ll work through that. And if he can help the team, he is going to help the team.”

9. Running back D’Andre Swift is good to go Sunday against the Jets. 

He didn’t practice on Thursday because of a knee injury.

That’s never good. But the Bears were still practicing on a short week. 

“Well, I think whenever you get in a short week with running backs that’s what happens,” Johnson said. “He’s still feeling the effects of a Monday Night Football game.”

Swift returned to practice on Friday. He has no injury designation. 

“I’m optimistic for Sunday,” Johnson added.

10. The Jets are banged up – especially on offense.

Running back Breece Hall (quad), receiver Adonai Mitchell (finger), tight end Mason Taylor (thumb) and left guard Dylan Parham (knee) were all ruled out for Week 4. 

Linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (quad) also was ruled out. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), though, is returning for the Jets defense.