Windy City Gridiron
Can the Bears count on their starting left tackle this year—-or beyond?
When people talk about the Chicago Bears’ revamped offense, Braxton Jones rarely comes up first. But maybe he should — because few people aside from Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson might be under more pressure on this offense to deliver this season than the fourth-year left tackle.
As ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out this week, Jones is “the most vulnerable player in their lineup.” He wasn’t supposed to be the answer at left tackle when Chicago grabbed him on Day 3 of the 2022 Draft. But he beat the odds, becoming the first player drafted after pick No. 150 to start a full season on the blind side since 1986. The problem is, he’s still trying to prove he’s more than just a good story, having missed 11 games the last two seasons.
The Bears have made big moves almost everywhere else on offense. They drafted their franchise quarterback. They locked down their best linemen. They brought in weapons. But the left tackle spot? That’s still Braxton Jones’ job — for now. However, Ben Johnson has made it clear that he has to compete for it.
And that’s not a given that he’ll keep it even if he earns it out of camp. Jones has missed 11 games over the past two seasons with injuries, including an ankle issue that sidelined him during OTAs. Meanwhile, the Bears used their second-round pick on Ozzy Trapilo — who struggled at left tackle in college before settling on the right side — and Darnell Wright, who’s been stellar on the right, doesn’t look ready to flip over just yet. That leaves second-year lineman Kiran Amegadjie lurking as another option.
“If Jones can stay healthy and lock down the left side of the line in the final season of his rookie deal,” Barnwell wrote, “the riches earned by similarly inconsistent (Dan Moore Jr.) or inexperienced (Jaylon Moore) left tackles in free agency suggest he would be in line for a deal north of $20 million per season. The pending free agent could leverage the open market against a front office that has been generous with offers to core players. If Jones can’t stay healthy or loses the job to Amegadjie, Wright or Trapilo while settling into a swing role, he is probably looking at a fraction of that amount in free agency.”
Bottom line: everything would be better for Jones and the Bears if he balled out in 2025. Keeping Williams upright and breaking those Bears passing records he’s set his sights on is the first and last priority for this squad if they want to take the NFC North (finally). If Jones can’t be that guy, they probably don’t have their left tackle of the future on the roster.
Then again, Jones still has to prove he’s the guy of the future. Which is its own problem.
