People might be a bit perplexed at how serious Ben Johnson has been about the left tackle situation since arriving as head coach. That is because he understands reality. Great offenses don’t function without good left tackles. Right now, the Chicago Bears don’t have one. Braxton Jones was decent even when healthy. Kiran Amegadjie is still untested. Ozzy Trapilo was a right tackle in college. Theo Benedet is a former undrafted free agent. Johnson faces this situation, knowing the NFC North might have the most stacked list of pass rushers in the NFL.
Aidan Hutchinson?
Jonathan Greenard?
Rashan Gary?
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Micah Parsons?
Running that gauntlet is almost impossible unless the Bears can field a credible left tackle. They’ll unlikely find one this year unless something crazy happens at the trade deadline. That means Johnson and GM Ryan Poles must start researching options for the 2026 offseason. Chicago will have plenty of resources to address the problem. It is about whether they can. In that regard, there is good news and bad news.
Good news: Chicago Bears will have options in the 2026 draft
Look around the NFL and you’ll see that most of the top offensive tackles in the league are 1st round picks. Of the seven Pro Bowlers this past season who were starters or reserves, six of them went in the 1st round. If the Chicago Bears go the draft route, it’ll be early. Thankfully, it sounds like the upcoming class will have options. Current projections have at least four names going in the 1st round, headlined by Spencer Fano (Utah), Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), and Caleb Lomu (Utah). There is a good chance others may ascend in the coming months. Depending on where the Bears pick, they should be able to land somebody they like.
Bad news: The veteran market will be barren
Free agency will not save the Bears next year. The list of options that might be available isn’t exactly stellar. Rasheed Walker from Green Bay might be the best of the bunch, which isn’t saying much. Then you have Cam Robinson, Vederian Lowe, and Jermaine Eluemunor as other possibilities. None of those names is a significant upgrade over Jones. That leaves the trade market. This offers slightly better possibilities with Charles Cross, Ikem Ekwonu, and maybe Tyler Smith. Of course, teams would have to make one of those guys available, which is hardly guaranteed. So yeah, the Bears would need some serious good fortune to go the veteran route for their answer.