Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t shy away from explaining why he benched left tackle Braxton Jones against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Johnson yanked Jones — a 43-game starter — from the Bears‘ lineup early in the second quarter against the Raiders after All-Pro pass rusher Maxx Crosby bullied him on their first several drives. He replaced him by moving Theo Benedet, their fill-in right tackle, to the left side and inserting rookie Ozzy Trapilo to play his first NFL snaps on the right.
Why? Because he believed Trapilo, a second-round pick, could spark them on offense.
He’s a guy that just keeps getting better each and every week,” Johnson said of Trapilo, the Bears‘ No. 56 overall pick this past spring’s NFL draft. ‘‘We were just at the point where we weren’t doing a whole lot on offense, and we felt like it might give us a spark.’’
While Crosby remained a threat all game, the Bears did a much better job holding him in check on the 40 snaps in which Benedet and Trapilo manned the tackle positions. The offense, as Johnson had hoped, also sparked to life after the change was made, accomplishing enough in the second half to eke out a 25-24 win in the final minute.
Whether the Bears will keep Jones on the bench moving forward is currently unclear, but they will have time to work through their options next week during their bye.
The Bears (2-2) will not play again until they meet the Washington Commanders (2-2) on October 13 for Monday Night Football in Week 6.
Braxton Jones Has Not Looked the Same Since Injury
The Bears knew they would need to show some patience with Jones coming off a season-ending injury in 2024. He had fractured his ankle in Week 16’s game against the Detroit Lions on December 22 and needed most of the 2025 offseason to fully recover.
Now back at full strength, though, Jones has not looked like quite the same player.
Jones, a 2022 fifth-round pick, has never been a stellar left tackle, but he did modest work in his first three seasons. He allowed the lowest pressure percentage (6.4%) of his career in the 12 games he played for the Bears in 2024 before his season-ending injury.
But since returning from injury, Jones has been a borderline disaster. He allowed 13 pressures and two sacks in his first three games of the season. Then, according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed two pressures and two quarterback hurries on just 17 pass-blocking snaps (17) against the Raiders before Johnson moved him to the bench.
For reference, Benedet and Trapilo also allowed two pressures and two quarterback hurries, but they each played more than double the number of snaps that Jones did. Jones also allowed the worst pressure percentage (11.8%) among the three of them.
That’s not a strong endorsement for Jones to remain the Bears‘ left tackle, nor does it make it very likely that they will work to extend him before he hits free agency in 2026.
Could Ozzy Trapilo Start at Left Tackle After Bye Week?
The Bears haven’t committed to keeping Jones on the bench just yet, but Johnson made it clear when he named Jones their Week 1 starter that he reserved the right to make a change at the position during the team’s bye week, if he felt they needed someone else.
If Jones is out, though, could the Bears possibly replace him with Trapilo instead?
Trapilo played exclusively on the right side against the Raiders during his NFL debut and has been training on that side of the line since the Bears stopped giving him first-team reps at left tackle in training camp. While he started his final 24 games at right tackle for Boston College, though, he also started 12 games at left tackle earlier on.
Given their adjustments in Week 4, Benedet seems like the more likely choice to take over for Jones at left tackle, but don’t discount Trapilo — who has gradually earned the trust of the coaching staff — as a legitimate contender for the long-term starting job.
Bears Make Feelings Clear on Benching Braxton Jones vs. Raiders