Chicago Bears: 3 more moves Ryan Poles still has to make this offseason

Ryan Poles should add a veteran offensive tackle to back up Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright.

The Bears will enter the 2023 season with a rookie playing right tackle and a second-year player at left tackle.

Braxton Jones was a fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah who played every snap last season protecting Justin Fields’ blindside. He did well in run blocking, but he was inconsistent when it came to pass blocking. Inconsistent is putting it nicely.

Still, he did enough for Poles to trust that he can get stronger this offseason to effectively handle a bull rush. Wright was rated very high on Poles’ draft board. He was considered one of the best right tackles coming out.

Both are still very young players. Right now, they are projected to be backed up by Kellen Diesch and Larry Borom.

Diesch was on the practice squad last season and Borom was benched last season after playing poorly at right tackle. Alex Leatherwood is still on the roster, but he was benched pretty quickly after he showed he could not replace Borom.

It would be nice if Poles added a veteran like he did last year when he brought in Riley Reiff before training camp. Reiff came in after Borom and Leatherwood failed and provided some stability at right tackle. Also, he was a valued veteran presence in the offensive line meeting room.

The pickings are slim.

Maybe going with Borom is the better option, but still, there is something to be said to have a veteran help guide Jones and Wright along.