One of the biggest turnarounds for the Chicago Bears last season was their upgraded offensive line, highlighted by the arrivals of Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman that paved the way for a significant decrease in sacks allowed and an improved running game. Right tackle Darnell Wright has already established himself as one of the best in the NFL at his position, but there are still questions that remain at the left tackle spot.
This week as the team opened up training camp, Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke about the left tackle position, which will see Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet, and Jedrick Wills Jr. all compete for the starting role. Poles also mentioned last year's second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo and 2024 draftee Kiran Amegadjie
as names who will get a chance to compete, although Trapilo is currently recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in the playoffs.
During the first training camp practice, it was Jones working with the first-team offense with Amegadjie running with the second team with Wills following. Meanwhile, Benedet ran with the second team at right tackle.
“It’s going to be a great competition,” Poles said. “I think we’ve got Braxton at a really good spot, probably the healthiest he’s been since his first year. So he’s going to compete, he’s got a lot of snaps under his belt. Theo’s done a great job. We see what he’s done with his body this offseason and he just continues to get bigger, stronger, faster to understand what we’re trying to do.
"I was really encouraged by Jedrick Wills and his progress that he’s made and he’s put over double-digit lean mass on his body, which is something we were looking forward to as he gets to getting back to what he was. So that whole group — and then Ozzy’s working his tail off. So we got a couple of layers to that and we’ll see how it all plays out – and Kiran (Amegadjie) as well.”
The Bears are not short on options at the left tackle position, but they certainly need to find their long-term cornerstone to protect quarterback Caleb Williams' blindside for years to come. Trapilo had shown real signs of promise and potential, but he'll have to work his way back to full health before he can get back to competing for the long-term starting role.
For now, it certainly feels like Jones is the favorite to win the job and serve as a stop-gap at the position, especially given his three seasons of starting experience.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles breaks down competition at left tackle
