The Bears are signing former Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. to a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday.
Wills, who turns 27 in May, was a first-round pick out of Alabama in 2020. He spent the 2025 season out of football recovering from a knee injury. In his five seasons with the Browns, he played in 58 games, starting 57 of them.
Availability was an issue for the talented Wills, as he missed a combined 21 games from 2023 to 2024. However, he showed enough before the injuries
to get his fifth-year option picked up by the Browns heading into the 2023 season. During his last season eligible for grading in 2023, Wills was the No. 35 offensive tackle in the NFL in PFSN’s OL Impact Scoring at 74.9, making him out as an average starting tackle. He finished at No. 27 at his position in 2022.
Over the course of his time in the NFL, Wills has taken all of his snaps as a left tackle. However, he spent time as a right tackle in college for the Crimson Tide, so he projects as having swing tackle potential.
Chicago will be without incumbent starting left tackle Ozzy Trapilo for much of 2026 due to a torn Patellar tendon he suffered in the team’s Wild Card game against the Packers. The Bears re-signed Braxton Jones to a one-year deal, and they still have Theo Benedet and Kiran Amegadjie on the roster. Bringing Wills into the mix on a one-year deal gives them a low-risk, high-reward signing to compete for a starting job coming off an injury.
