The Chicago Bears kicked off training camp with one unsettled position along the offensive line: left tackle.
Incumbent veteran Braxton Jones was expected to have a summer’s long competition with rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo, but after new developments this week, that competition may be over.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean Jones has the starting gig locked up.
Trapilo was kicked to the right side and lined up with the second team at right tackle, while Jones rotated with Theo Benedet, the 2024 undrafted rookie from Canada’s University of British Columbia.
Benedet had his 15 minutes of fame during last summer’s Hard Knocks, but he spent his rookie year on the Bears’ practice squad.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
“It’s still a process right now,” offensive line coach Dan Roushar said on Wednesday. “We still have a long ways to go before we determine anything.”
The favorite to win the left tackle gig should be Jones; he has 40 career starts and has played reasonably well during that stretch.
But don’t be surprised if Benedet makes it a tougher decision that many assumed it would be.
“There’s a lot of things to really like about Theo,” Roushar said. “He’s had probably as much improvement as any player we have in the group. With that, there’s a lot of things for him to improve on and he knows that and we’ve got to work on it. He is working his tail off. He has put himself in a position to go compete for a job somewhere in this group.”
While most Bears fans were hoping Trapilo would win the job and give Chicago that valuable rookie contract at left tackle. But he’s not there yet, and it may take some time before he is.
“When he’s gotten himself in front of the rush and he’s thrown his hands, it’s been very effective,” Roushar said of Trapilo. “He gets in between and he starts to become a little bit more reactionary than actionary, and we’re not getting the results we look for from him nor anyone else.”
If I had to wager on how this will all shake out, I’d bet Jones begins the season as the starting left tackle, Trapilo evolves into the Bears’ valuable swing tackle (first man up on either side), with Benedet continuing to develop as a depth left tackle only.