Bears Insider Shares Concerning Braxton Jones Update

The Chicago Bears have invested heavily at the left tackle position since Ryan Poles took over as GM. It started with Braxton Jones in the 5th round in 2022. He earned the job outright as a rookie and has held it for the past three years. Kiran Amegadjie joined the conversation as a 3rd round pick alongside undrafted free agent Theo Benedet last year. Then this April, Ozzy Trapilo arrived as a 2nd round pick. Despite all of that, it appears the Bears haven't been able to decide on a starter halfway through training camp.

Head coach Ben Johnson has said he will continue the evaluation as long as necessary. The goal is for somebody to jump out and grab the job. That hasn't happened so far. Benedet has made by far the biggest push over the past week, earning extensive work with the starting offense. The bigger concern is Jones. He's going in the opposite direction. According to Adam Hoge of CHGO, the regression is very real and more than a little concerning. He looks nothing like the player he was last year.

It's time to wonder if Braxton Jones returned too soon.

Remember, the Bears initially reported that he might not be ready by the start of training camp a few months ago. So when Braxton Jones reported ready to go, which was a surprise, it seemed his recovery went better than expected. Based on what we've seen, it might be more accurate to say he decided to practice at less than 100%. The reasoning is obvious. He knew his job was in danger and couldn't afford to miss time. It happens a lot in the NFL. Jones didn't want to take the risk that Amegadjie or Trapilo could establish themselves before he was ready. It was a calculated risk that may have ended up hurting more than helping his case. The only saving grace is that others haven't completely outpaced him yet. He'd better find a way to reverse course soon, or it'll be too late.