Even with the injuries, the Chicago Bears' offense should be mostly set. They will return most of their starters from last year, with some brand-new toys for head coach Ben Johnson to work with and help Caleb Williams.
However, there's still plenty of uncertainty at left tackle. Projected starter Ozzy Trapilo miraculously recovered way faster than anticipated; he was expected to miss most of the season, but he will still have to sit out for the first several weeks.
Braxton Jones has always been the leading candidate to start in his place, but injuries and disappointing performances have unsettled the team at left tackle. In fact, even Coach Johnson admitted that's still a major talking point in the building.
Ben Johnson admits the Bears' concerns at left tackle
"That's still an ongoing spot. It’s a hot spot for us", the coach said. "Obviously we talk about it almost every time I'm up here. And yet, I don't know that we are 100 percent sold on who that guy's gonna be for Carolina (in Week 1) yet. We're gonna still work through it. That's where today's gonna be huge for us. Thursday's (joint practice against the Tennessee Titans) gonna be huge for us. And Saturday's gonna be huge for us as well."
Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie failed to make the most of their opportunities to challenge Jones for the starting nod. It got so ugly that it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see one of them not make the roster and the other also be shown the door once Trapilo is back to full strength.
As for Theo Benedet, he looked terrible there last season, and he hasn't shown many signs of improvement between seasons. He won't play most — if at all — behind Darnell Wright, but Jones still seems slightly better at this point.
Fortunately, this won't be a season-long issue, or at least it shouldn't. Trapilo looked the part when he finally claimed the starting spot as a rookie, and while he's still expected to miss some time, the Bears should get him back on the field at some point in the season.
The Bears have already learned how much a solid offensive line can do for their team. Caleb Williams went from being the most-sacked quarterback as a rookie to leading the team to the NFC Divisional Round in his second year in the league.
He's reportedly made big strides over training camp, but accuracy remains a concern, and not having a clean pocket will only get him more exposed. Also, as reliable as Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum are, losing their starters to an injury would all but kill this team's aspirations.
Blindside protection is probably the second-most important thing to address when building an offense. The clock is ticking, and the Bears must hope either Jones figures things out before they're forced to make a short-term move.
| More Bears on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google