It's officially game week as the Chicago Bears host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in Week 1.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke to the media on Tuesday and revealed that Braxton Jones will be the starter at left tackle, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.. With this announcement, it ended the battle at left tackle between Jones, Ozzy Trapilo, Kiran Amegadjie, and Theo Benedet.
Braxton Jones will start at left tackle Week 1 vs. Minnesota, per Ben Johnson
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 2, 2025
Benedet was someone who surprisingly jumped into the competition, but this decision seemingly put an end to that discussion.
Braxton Jones Will Start at LT for Bears in Week 1
Benedet signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2024. During training camp, the 23-year-old was a player who impressed the coaching staff. He got some first-team reps with the starters last month but didn't do enough to secure the starting job.
He was a player who got valuable playing time in the preseason, logging 113 offensive snaps. In those reps, Benedet had a 79.5 overall grade, 77.2 pass-blocking grade, and 76.6 run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus.
Those numbers are solid across the board and show why he was a viable threat to win the job. Regardless of what he did in those outings, the Bears went with the player who started in the NFL. Jones is going into the final year of his rookie deal, but has 40 starts in his career.
Chicago wanted to roll with the guy who had been there before and done it in this primetime battle. It'll be interesting to see how Jones plays in 2025. That will determine if he stays in the starting lineup, but even if he gets sent to the bench, Trapilo could be the player who's next in line to be the starter.
General manager Ryan Poles said that Trapilo hit the rookie wall this summer, which also played a role in why he didn't land the starting job either.
The Bears made sure to go through a long process to find the Week 1 answer, and that guy is Jones. Benedet was the player who made a surprising run at the job, but one thing that he did was showcase why he's a solid depth guy up front.
A player never knows when their number will be called, and Chicago would be confident if they had to throw Benedet out there. But as of now, he will stay on the bench for the Bears.