The Chicago Bears may have just hit an unfortunate snag with the frontrunner in their left tackle competition during the second week of training camp practice.
According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Bears veteran offensive tackle Braxton Jones exited early from August 6’s practice with “a visible look of pain on his face” after he appeared to suffer an injury during one-on-one drills against Austin Booker.
“During 1-on-1s, Braxton Jones looked like he got hurt on his second rep vs. Austin Booker,” Cronin wrote Thursday on X. “He had a visible look of pain on his face and like he was fighting back tears. He went back in for one rep and then went into the building with trainer Andre Tucker.”
After practice, The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs reported that the “initial thought” is that Jones “dodged a significant injury,” but the 27-year-old will undergo more testing.
Jones has emerged as the frontrunner in the Bears’ left tackle competition through the first two weeks of camp, taking most of the reps with the first-team offense despite the team continuing to work in veteran Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie at the role. He started 44 games for the Bears at left tackle over his first four seasons in the NFL.
If Jones must now miss time with an injury, though, the Bears may need to reevaluate their current personnel at the position to ensure that quarterback Caleb Williams has his blindside properly protected when they open the 2026 season on September 13.
Bears Re-Signed Braxton Jones as Band-Aid at Left Tackle
Jones didn’t have an outstanding season for the Bears in 2025. While he opened the season as their starting left tackle, he made it just four games before the Bears benched him in favor of Theo Benedet during Week 4’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
After his benching, Jones played just 12 special-teams snaps over the next two games before an ankle injury landed him on injured reserve and effectively ended his season.
When Jones’ rookie contract expired after the 2025 season, though, the Bears found themselves in a tough spot: Ozzy Trapilo, their second-round rookie who had risen to the left tackle role in 2025, had suffered a severe knee injury in the playoffs and would likely need to miss most of the 2026 campaign — if not all of it — while he recovered.
That brought the Bears back to Jones, who faced an uncertain free-agent market after two consecutive seasons with injury troubles. The Bears signed Jones to a one-year, $5 million contract that could reach a maximum value of $10 million through incentives, investing in his familiarity with the offense and team as a stopgap option at left tackle.
Unfortunately for the Bears, Jones isn’t much of a band-aid if his injury issues persist.
How Much Can Bears Trust Fallbacks at Left Tackle?
Before Jones’ injury scare, Bears head coach Ben Johnson told reporters that he hoped to have “a lot more clarity” about the team’s left tackle competition by the middle of next week despite his plans to continue rotating in Wills, Amegadjie and Benedet.
“This is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,” Johnson said Thursday. “We’re going to continue to cycle guys through.”
The question now, though, is: Can the Bears count on their three alternative options at left tackle if an injury forces Jones to spend time on the sideline in the coming weeks?
Wills — the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 draft — started 57 games at left tackle for the Cleveland Browns over his first five seasons in the league, but injuries severely limited him in both 2023 (eight games played) and 2024 (five games played). He also spent the entire 2025 season rehabbing his injured knee before entering free agency in 2026.
Healthy now, Wills could contribute for the Bears in 2026, but he will need to earn his spot on their roster — either as their opening-day starter or one of their swing tackles.
Meanwhile, Amegadjie and Benedet are both on the roster bubble. Benedet has more credit built with the coaching staff, having logged a few spot starts in 2025 and touting left-right flexibility that makes him ideal as a swing tackle. The Bears will want to give Amegadjie, a 2024 third-rounder, every opportunity to stick around, though.
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