Left tackle has been an ongoing source of stress for the Bears, and coach Ben Johnson has made it clear throughout the four-way competition that whoever wins the job for Week 1 isn’t assured of keeping it.
His choice is veteran Braxton Jones, for now, in the opener Monday against the Vikings after he beat out Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie and rookie Ozzy Trapilo. It’ll be an audition, however, with Johnson planning for constant evaluation and hinting that the bye in Week 5 will be a thorough reassessment.
“That’s fair for them to say and evaluate it that way,” Jones told the Sun-Times. “It’s my job go in there regardless of what they’re saying and perform.
“I am here for the team and here to win, so I’m keeping my eyes on the most important thing and getting back from this injury. Regardless of what’s being said, I’m going to take the same approach.”
Jones, going into the fourth and final season of his rookie contract, has started 40 games since the Bears drafted him in the fifth round out of Southern Utah in 2022. While he is a developmental success story, the team has constantly searched for upgrades during his tenure.
The latest shot at finding someone better was drafting Trapilo out of Boston College in the second round at No. 56 overall. He has a long way to go, though, and will begin the season as a backup.
Jones has played well at times in his three seasons with the Bears. He struggled early last season before making some progress — only to have it dashed by a broken ankle. That was a major hindrance to his offseason training, but he overcame it largely because of his experience compared to Benedet, Amegadjie and Trapilo, who have a combined one NFL start.
“He knows what he’s doing,” coach Ben Johnson said of Jones. “Is it perfect every play? No, it’s not, but we did see the execution go up over the course of the last few weeks, so there is a trust level in him knowing what to do.”