LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Jonah Jackson remembers one of his first NFL starts vividly.
Part of it is because he's come full circle. On Sep 13, 2020, Jackson started his first NFL game against the Chicago Bears, where he's now anchoring the interior offensive line.
That day, Jackson started at right guard. Since then, he's also started at left guard and center. He can do it all.
"I think I'll do just fine," Jackson said.
The Bears reveled in the additions of Jackson, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett on Wednesday.
The team has revitalized the offensive and defensive trenches with its biggest needs in mind under first-year head coach Ben Johnson: protecting Caleb Williams and attacking opposing quarterbacks.
All the additions know this, too. They see the trends.
"The O line and the D-line is really the motor to this car," Jackson said.
Thuney, Jackson become new faces of the O-Line
The trades for Thuney and Jackson became official at 3 P.M. Wednesday afternoon as the NFL celebrated its new year.
With the two come two of the most accomplished offensive linemen since Charles Leno, Kyle Long and Olin Kruetz.
The first two made Pro Bowls. Kreutz was the last Bears' offensive lineman to earn an All-Pro nod back in 2006.
All but one of the signings so far – reserve tight end Durham Smythe – have been on the offensive and defensive lines.
"We're building this team from the front and that's really what it all comes down to," Jackson said. "Receivers, quarterbacks and running backs, they get all the stats, they look pretty and you know, it's all them."
Thuney and Jackson headline the additions.
They're going to be counted on to lead the Bears' offensive line with experienced voices and proven talent.
With that experience comes with the knowledge of how to get on the same page as quick as possible.
"It starts early, it starts in OTAs and getting in the film room together, seeing film together, seeing how we see things," Thuney said. "Then being on the field, just playing next to each other and how we fit how we communicate."
That's music to the Bears' ears, especially after last season's offensive line was never on any page close to where the team needed to be.
New Chicago Bears, from left, Jonah Jackson, Grady Jarrett and Joe Thuney are officially announced during a news conference at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service
Newcomers know the blueprint
Thuney and Jackson come from successful franchises.
Thuney has won four Super Bowls. Jackson played with Sean McVay and was present for the Detroit Lions' rise to the top of the NFC North.
Jackson was asked about his time with Johnson in Detroit and was asked about how the Lions got going.
"Just trust and belief in what you're doing," Jackson said. "Staying the course head down, going to work, taking it one day at a time."
With Thuney, who has won Super Bowls with both of the two franchises he's played for, comes a modicum of trust.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles was behind the push to sign Thuney in Kansas City. Poles signed Thuney to revamp the Chiefs' offensive line once, and he traded for him to do the same in Chicago.
"It feels like yesterday where we were signing him to Kansas City, when we were trying to get our offensive line right so we could make a push and win championships and that's exactly what he brought," Poles said. "He's seen a lot of different things, played with a lot of different players. There's a level of maturity and leadership that is definitely going to enhance not only just the offensive line room, but our entire roster."
Experience hasn't dampened their drive
The Bears have an impressionable roster.
Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson, Gervon Dexter Sr., Monetz Sweat, Cole Kmet, Darnell Wright, Caleb Williams and Jaquan Brisker are the players who comprise the core of the Chicago Bears.
Jarrett is a person who can make his mark on this team. He comes to this core of players at age 31, having played for the Falcons, where he recorded three sacks in Super Bowl LI.
Even after an ACL injury in 2023, Jarrett returned in 2024 to start every game.
"The thing that keep me going is just, I'm just hungry for more," Jarrett said. "I'm always hungry. I'm unsatisfied."
Jarrett brought a mentality that would have made any coach in America proud on Wednesday.
He was asked about his mentality after the Falcons released him after a decade where he became a fan favorite in his hometown of Atlanta.
The Falcons weren't on his mind in the slightest on Wednesday. Instead, he was thinking about his third NFL contract, which was with the Chicago Bears.
"My motivation doesn't come from trying to get back or vengeance or whatever it is," Jarrett said. "I'm focused on the next thing, and my next thing is here and all I can do, I would be robbing Chicago coaches, players, fans if I was up here worried about how Atlanta made me feel."
Thuney and Jackson echoed this sentiment. There was no regret in leaving Kansas City for Thuney. There was no regret about how Jackson's situation in Los Angeles ended.
There's only the next step ahead in Chicago, where the newest additions have a chance to change the perception of the trenches for the Bears immediately.
"We're going to define what it's going to look like in terms of our meeting process, our walkthrough process, our practice habits, what it looks like off the field," Johnson said. "That all translates to winning on the field. All three of these guys have done that at a high level."
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