Bears LT Braxton Jones still has work to do in convincing coach Ben Johnson for long term
Bears coach Ben Johnson was clear going into the season that his selection of Braxton Jones as starting left tackle was anything but permanent. At the end of a four-way competition with Theo Benedet, rookie Ozzy Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie, Jones was deemed the best of some shaky options.
Coupling that with Johnson’s repeated preseason references to the bye in Week 5 as a chance to reassess everything, all Jones seemed to win was a four-game audition. Heading into the Bears’ game Sunday against the Cowboys, he hasn’t been convincing.
“He’s doing a good job in terms of knowing the game plan,” Johnson said. “He’s started the first half of each game really strongly, and we haven’t had the second-half finish that we’ve wanted.”
Pro Football Focus ranked Jones 73rd among 94 offensive tackles through two games, and he committed a facemask penalty that put the Bears in second-and-32, when Caleb Williams threw an interception, in the 52-21 loss to the Lions.
Nonetheless, he’s by far their most proven option. Jones has been the Bears’ starter the last three seasons, whereas Benedet was on the practice squad all last season as an undrafted player out of Canada, Amegadjie played sparingly as a rookie and Trapilo has yet to play a snap.
The Bears drafted Trapilo in the second round at No. 56 overall likely envisioning him as their left tackle of the future. They moved him to right tackle during training camp, and that’s likely where he’ll stay.
Johnson said he’s improving and insisted he’ll play this season, but he was a healthy scratch Sunday.