The Chicago Bears have undergone a facelift over the past year, and that’s meant a lot of players have come and gone. Ben Johnson has established a new culture in Chicago, and the results have been terrific as Chicago is 10-4 on the season and could earn its first division title since 2018 with a strong finish.
The Bears still have big goals to achieve in the final three weeks of the regular season, but it’s hard not to acknowledge some of the decisions that got them to this point. One of those decisions was to let go of nose tackle Justin Jones after the 2023 season and allow him to cash in on a three-year, $30.1 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
After two injury-plagued seasons, Jones was waived from injured reserve by the Cardinals on Wednesday, making him a free agent, according to The Arizona Republic’s Theo Mackie. While it may not be an immediate reunion, the Bears would be wise to keep tabs on the 29-year-old and potentially bring him back to Chicago to bolster their defensive line.
Justin Jones Could Be Perfect Bears Flier for 2026
Defensive line depth has been an issue for the Bears throughout the 2025 season. Chicago did its best to fortify the trenches by bringing in Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency last spring and added Shemar Turner in April’s draft. But none of those players provided an immediate return, as Jarrett has been disappointing, Odeyingbo was used on the edge before tearing his Achilles, and Turner tore his ACL.
While Jarrett has shown signs of life in recent weeks, the issue is particularly troubling at defensive tackle. Gervon Dexter Sr. has given the Bears modest production with 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, and five sacks. But the group of Andrew Billings, Chris Williams, and Jonathan Ford has been mostly underwhelming.
Of course, the reason Jones is available means he may not be able to help the Bears during the playoff push. Jones played in three games for the Cardinals over the past two seasons, and all of those games came in the 2024 campaign before he tore his triceps. While Jones returned for this year’s training camp, he suffered a knee injury that forced him to IR and never made it back before Arizona threw in the towel.
Still, the Bears know there’s a productive player there when healthy. Jones spent two seasons in Chicago as a free-agent pickup by Ryan Poles before the 2022 season, starting all 34 games and logging 101 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. At this point in his career, he’d also be a cheap way to add depth as he’s coming off back-to-back major injuries and could provide training camp competition in a worst-case scenario.
With the Bears looking like a team on the rise this season, adding to the weaknesses of the team will be imperative to make sure they’re not a one-year wonder. Adding Jones could be the low-risk flier they need to do that, and it could come to fruition either toward the end of this season or as the Bears assemble their roster for 2026.