Windy City Gridiron
By now, you’ve no doubt heard about the offensive tackle shuffle from the Chicago Bears today at practice. It seems they’re learning towards a left tackle leader in the clubhouse, but with a week of training camp left, one more joint practice, two preseason games, and 26 days until the season opener, there’s still time for them to change their minds.
Earlier today, Bears’ offensive line coach Dan Roushar met the media, and he spoke honestly about his two starting tackles from the preseason game, Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright.
Left tackle Jones had some rough moments against the Dolphins after getting the start, and that didn’t sit well with Roushar.
“On the day off, he and I had a little communication,” Roushar said about Jones via CHGO. “I thought on Friday against Miami in the one-on-ones [at the joint practice], and I’m not speaking out of the side of my mouth, I saw him set with balance. His hips were down, and he used his length, and I saw a player that we can win when I watched him. On Sunday, as I told him, I said you reverted back to whatever this is for you, but that’s not acceptable, and so every day we have to go in and we’ll have a standard. We’ll maintain that standard, hold those guys to that, because what he does or anybody playing the left tackle or any other position impacts the entirety of our group.”
Braxton’s main competition for left tackle has been rookie Ozzy Trapilo, but today, the Bears had him playing with the twos at right tackle, something Roushar said they were planning to do. Second-year pro Kiran Amegadjie missed last week with an injury, and he was running with the threes at left tackle today.
Theo Benedet, also in his second year, had some run with the ones at left tackle today after playing a pretty solid right tackle on Sunday against the Dolphins. Sure, it was against the bottom of their depth chart, but you can only play against who’s out there, and Benedet looked good.
A week ago, it looked like Benedet was destined for the practice squad, but now he’s squarely in the mix for a 53-man roster spot.
Darnell Wright isn’t fighting anyone off for his starting position, but that doesn’t mean Roushar is satisfied with the play he’s seen from his 24-year-old right tackle.
“A little bit too inconsistent,” Roushar said of Wright via WGN’s Kaitlin Sharkey. “There’s moments when we look at it, when he loses focus or fatigue starts to set in, we see a decline in play, but when he’s on point, I’ve seen Darnell do some things that you get excited about. He’s just not been able to stack it play after play after play, which isn’t uncommon for a young player. There are moments where I’ve seen the growth… is it as fast as I want it or he wants it to be? No. My job is to...
