LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears signed backup quarterback Tyson Bagent to a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season on Wednesday.
Chicago also signed veteran running back Royce Freeman and placed running back Deion Hankins on injured reserve with a quad injury. Coach Ben Johnson announced cornerback Terell Smith will miss the season after being carted off the field with a knee injury in Sunday's preseason win over Buffalo.
Bagent played in four games and threw two passes last season with Caleb Williams starting every game after being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. But he's made a big impression over two seasons.
Undrafted in 2023 following a record-setting career at Division II powerhouse Shepherd University, Bagent played in five games and made four starts while leading Chicago to two wins with Justin Fields injured. He completed 66% of his passes for 859 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions.
“I’ve really been blown away by his approach from the spring to start of camp to where we are now," coach Ben Johnson said. “He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it and getting it done. So I don’t think you can have enough talent in that room. I think we actually have one of the best rooms in the NFL, certainly that I’ve been around in my career from top to bottom.”
Bagent, who grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia, set what was the NCAA’s all-division mark with 159 career touchdown passes, and finished with more completions (1,400) and yards passing (17,034) than any other Division II quarterback. In 2021, Bagent won the Harlon Hill Trophy, Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman.
Freeman, a third-round draft pick by Denver in 2018, has run for 1,792 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Broncos, Houston, Los Angeles Rams and Carolina.
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Chicago Bears wide receiver Tyler Scott (10) and quarterback Tyson Bagent (17) smile as they jog off the field after Scott caught a touchdown pass in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
