Ryan Poles Had Rare Moment Of Frustration Discussing Left Tackle Issue

The Chicago Bears don't have too many glaring issues on their roster going into the regular season. Injuries have eaten into their depth at edge rusher, running back, and cornerback. Outside of that, things seem settled. There is, of course, one glaring exception. The Bears still don't have a definitive starter at left tackle. This is a big problem considering it might be the second-most important position on the team besides the quarterback. GM Ryan Poles has spent not inconsiderable resources trying to fix that position since he arrived in 2022.

Thus far, the results have been mixed.

Braxton Jones established himself as a reliable starter in 2022 and held the job for the next three years. Unfortunately, a lack of power and injury setbacks opened the door for the team to go hunting for replacements. It started with former 3rd round pick Kiran Amegadjie last year and soon included 2nd round pick Ozzy Trapilo. Despite these investments, no clear option has emerged. Poles isn't usually one to express frustration, but you could see it in his comments about the issue to Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune.

They’re all on different planes, and that’s been the most challenging part of it. So you have Braxton, and you’re trying to evaluate a guy that’s coming back from a pretty significant injury. And then looking at last year’s tape as kind of the bar, can he get to that point and better? But he’s not quite there yet. He’s closing in on it.

But then the person he’s competing with (Trapilo) is a person that’s never played in the league versus Kiran, who didn’t have his first year, coming from a smaller school (Amegadjie missed most of the 2024 offseason after an injury at Yale). And then Theo enters the conversation, who from a length standpoint may not have everything but from a foot speed and toughness (standpoint) has a lot of things that you like.

So kind of piecing it all together and projecting is what we’re trying to do. Right now we just want one of those guys to take it and play free and not to lose the job but to take the job. (That’s) what we’re looking for as we go down the stretch here.

Ryan Poles can only hope somebody overcomes their roadblock to step up.

Right now, it feels like the Bears are betting that it will be Jones. He's already a proven commodity as a starter and seems to have progressed in his recovery from the leg injury last year. Trapilo isn't ready yet. He needs more time, and there aren't many opportunities to show it once the season begins. Rumors have persisted that the Bears like Amegadjie the most from a pure talent standpoint, but a mid-training camp injury slowed his progress. Benedet having short arms is not something he can do anything about. There are cases of good left tackles in the NFL with below-average length, but not many. This is why Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson haven't declared a winner. They're hoping someone emerges from the dust to claim the job. Seize it with both hands. If they can't, it reinforces the reality that Chicago may have to go hunting for a solution next spring.