LAKE FOREST, Ill., — One of the big needs for the Chicago Bears this offseason is at left tackle. The Bears drafted Ozzy Trapilo to be the long-term guy there, but after his injury in the NFC Wild Card game, he's likely going to be out most of 2026. That left just Theo Benedet on the roster as the under-contract left tackle, until Monday.
The Bears are bringing back a familiar face as they have agreed to a deal with offensive tackle Braxton Jones per Jordan Schultz. It's a one-year deal that can be worth up to $10 million as he will earn $5 million in base salary and another $5 million if he hits incentives.
The former fifth-round pick won the starting job out of training camp last season but was replaced in Week 4 by Benedet. He then suffered an injury and didn't make his return.
For Jones, he comes back to a familiar place with the chance to win the starting job again. It makes sense for both sides and makes it easy to try and at least fill that need at left tackle, pending other moves. Jones has started 44 games in his career at left tackle.
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