The Chicago Bears are coming off their bye as Windy City fans eagerly wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. The early break gave the Bears some time to rest and also alter some of the things that had negatively affected them through the first month of the season, including some issues up front.
Left tackle has been a problem area for the Bears thus far, with offensive tackle Braxton Jones's role constantly being questioned. Head coach Ben Johnson was asked about who'll start there in Week 6 on Tuesday, stating that he has a good idea of who'll start at LT but didn't provide further detail, per Dan Wiederer of The Athletic.
Wiederer added that it seems to be looking like Theo Benedet will be the answer. The fact that Johnson didn't just come out and say that Jones will remain the starter is bad news for his chances of stepping on the field in Week 6.
Braxton Jones Is Clearly on Thin Ice with Bears
It has been an underwhelming season for Jones through four games. According to Pro Football Focus, he has a 55 overall grade (75th among 113 graded tackles), 61.7 pass-blocking grade (55th among 113 graded tackles), and 47.2 run-blocking grade (102nd among 113 graded tackles). Jones has also allowed 15 total pressures, two QB hits, and two sacks.
Jones finished Week 4's win against the Las Vegas Raiders with a season-worst 41.3 overall grade and 28.1 run-blocking grade in 28 total snaps.
It's clear they used the bye week to look at the tape, and they didn't like what they saw. Over the summer, there was an open competition at left tackle between Ozzy Trapilo, Kiran Amegadjie, and Benedet. Johnson doesn't appear to be a coach who will stand pat and not make changes, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
He benched Jones in the Raiders' victory in favor of Benedet. The latter didn't have the best performance either, as he had a 35.2 overall grade, 36.6 pass-blocking grade, and a 39.8 run-blocking grade on PFF. While those numbers are massively underwhelming, Benedet was more stable this summer. During the preseason, he had a 79.5 overall grade, 77.2 pass-blocking grade, and 76.6 run-blocking grade.
Johnson never seemed thrilled to name Jones as the starter in the first place, and his outings this season are making a needed change more obvious. If Benedet can be solid against the Commanders on Monday Night Football, he'll have the inside track to staying at left tackle. The fact that it looks like he's the first off the bench shows how he's viewed by the coaching staff, which is also an indictment of Jones, to say the least.