I didn't expect the Bears to make any more free agent moves at left tackle after they signed Braxton Jones to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million on Monday. However, they showed they weren't yet content with their left tackle situation, as they also agreed to terms with former Browns first-round pick Jedrick Wills.
> Former Browns first-round pick, OT Jedrick Wills Jr., is signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears, per source. [pic.twitter.com/VILu0CbmV5](https://t.co/VILu0CbmV5)
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> — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) [March 11, 2026](https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/2031831698107703467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Taking a shot on Wills isn't a shot in the dark on a former draft bust. It's nothing of the sort, in fact.
He might not have lived up to the sky-high expectations for a top 10 pick (Cleveland selected him 10th overall in 2020), but he's been a league-average starter whenever healthy. He has started all but one game that he's been active for in his career.
His main issue is that _he has rarely been healthy_. He's played in only 13 games over the previous three years and sat out the entire 2025 season to recover from a litany of injuries.
Still only 26 years old, Wills is a worthwhile reclamation project for offensive line coach Dan Roushar to experiment with in training camp. Unless Braxton Jones can bounce back strong after another offseason removed from his fractured fibula, then I think he'll have a real shot to win the job outright.
The Bears' offensive tackle room now consists of Jones, Wills, Theo Benedet, Ozzy Trapilo, Kiran Amegadjie, and Darnell Wright. Wright will obviously hold down the right tackle spot, and Trapilo would be a shoo-in for the left tackle job if he were healthy. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn patellar tendon in the Wild Card Round against Green Bay and will probably be on the shelf until midseason (at the earliest).
With Trapilo's untimely injury, the Bears will now rely on Jones, Wills, Benedet, or Amegadjie to win the left tackle job outright. They're in an eerily similar situation to the one they were in last year, when Jones started four games, and Benedet started eight before Trapilo took the job and never looked back.
Barring a surprising development on the Amegadjie front, I think the starting job will probably come down to an open competition between the other three. In fact, I think the addition of Wills might be enough to push Amegadjie off the roster entirely once Trapilo returns to the lineup. I imagine they'll pull the band-aid off that they've been avoiding (cutting ties with their 2024 third-round pick) at that point.
What does this mean for their draft plans? Are they done addressing the left tackle position?
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I honestly think so. Unless they're open to Benedet or Wills being on the roster bubble (which I guess is _possible_, but doesn't feel _necessary_), then I don't see it happening. I'm pretty satisfied with that outcome, too.
The front office knows that protecting Caleb Williams is paramount, but they also know they'd have to pay up if they want to land a left tackle that could start from day one (which is really all they need with the hope that Trapilo will be a rock-solid starting option when healthy). They're really just hoping to tread water until that point.
Prioritizing a band-aid at left tackle through the first three rounds isn't exactly an ideal outcome with as many needs they have on the defensive side of the ball. If they draft an offensive lineman in this year's class, it'll be much more likely to be a center. Garrett Bradbury, whom the team traded a fifth-round pick for last week, is entering the final year of his deal.
The left tackle competition appears set, and that's a much better situation for Chicago to be in than the alternative.