The Chicago Bears are entering a new era with head coach Ben Johnson, and they have a lot of work to do. The OTA workouts and minicamp were largely dedicated to cleaning up some of the factors that led to the Bears’ 5-12 record a season ago, and being on the field has gone a long way toward helping players win the trust of the new coaching staff.
While most players were present and locked in to begin Johnson’s tenure, there were a few who couldn’t get on the field due to injury. One of those players entered the offseason with his job on the line, and he may have hurt his chance at seizing a starting role after spending OTAs on the sideline.
Bears T Braxton Jones May Have Lost His Job During OTAs
The offseason program meant a lot to many of the players on the Bears’ roster. But it may have had a different meaning for offensive tackle Braxton Jones.
Jones was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft and had a solid start to his career, posting a 75.4 overall grade while allowing 40 pressures and seven sacks on 542 pass-blocking snaps in his rookie season, according to Pro Football Focus. He had some regression in his sophomore season with a 68.8 overall grade and 32 pressures, but he allowed just two sacks on 421 pass-blocking snaps before bouncing back last season with a 77.4 overall grade and 80.6 pass-blocking grade.
Numbers like that gave Jones an advantage in being the starter at left tackle next season. But an ankle injury ended his season prematurely and opened the door for the Bears to pursue alternatives during the offseason, drafting Ozzy Trapilo with the 58th overall pick.
There’s a chance that rookies don’t acclimate themselves to the NFL level right away, but Trapilo took a solid first step during the offseason program. The Bears Wire’s Alyssa Barbieri reported that Trapilo and second-year offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie have a real chance to win the starting left tackle job after minicamp and it could lead to an uncertain future for Jones.
Entering the final year of his contract, Jones would be best suited to return to the field during the early part of training camp. But with the uncertain nature of his ankle injury, that’s not a given. With Trapilo and Amegadjie soaking in the reps, Jones is also behind and could be on his way to fighting for a job somewhere else as Chicago approaches the 2025 season.