The Chicago Bears are among many NFL franchises that may be willing to make an investment they hadn't previously planned on this offseason following the news that the NFL's salary cap is climbing to between $301.2 million and $305.7 million for the 2026 season.
That investment would likely be left tackle Braxton Jones, who offers Caleb Williams much-needed protection on the blindside, even if his performance regressed after leg injuries the past two years. Jones is familiar, and though he was previously looked at as an expendable piece, the game has changed with an extra big-money contract slot opened up by the league's continued revenue gains.
Given Ozzy Trapilo's torn patellar tendon, there's long-term uncertainty at the position. Joe Thuney and Theo Benedet could offer alternative starters, but Jones is a proven entity. There's no need to go the draft route now at one of the most important positions on the field.
Assuming Trapilo eventually returns at full health, he'll be the guy the Bears rely on to protect their greatest asset. It could be a while before that happens, though, and Jones, at just 26 years old, still has mileage left. Assuming he returns to mean levels as his own injuries fall further in the rearview mirror, Jones can hold things down in the meantime.
Braxton Jones Linked to Potential One-Year Deal With Bears
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs believes Jones and the Bears had an imperfectly perfect storm come together, creating an opportunity for the LT to return to the Windy City on a one-year bargain deal.
"Jones didn’t have the kind of season he was hoping for in a contract year. A one-year deal to return to the Bears healthy and play in place of Trapilo could give him the opportunity to restore his market value," Biggs said.
The injury to Trapilo is what complicates matters here. If he were healthy and ready to go for the start of the 2026 offseason program, this likely isn't a conversation that Bears fans would consider entertaining. However, this is the hand that Chicago has been dealt. Fortunately, the adjustment to the salary cap for the upcoming season should help the Bears tread water, at the very least, in the immediate future.
Sometimes, a team and a player are bound together through circumstance. Jones worked out well for a fifth-round pick and continues to display enough value to keep on guaranteed money. With so much extra to spend, there's little justification for Ryan Poles to let the market poach Jones away.