The Chicago Bears seem to have a clear favorite emerging in their left tackle competition with less than a week to go until the 53-man roster cutdown.
The Bears have been working to find a replacement for Ozzy Trapilo — who remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list — at left tackle over the past several weeks of training camp, rotating in several candidates with their first-team offense in practice.
From the perspective of The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, though, Braxton Jones has solidified himself as the “clear leader” to open the 2026 season as the Bears’ starting left tackle despite missing some practice time over the last month with a minor knee injury.
“Barring something unexpected, Braxton Jones looks like the starter at left tackle to open the season,” Biggs wrote on August 23. “He has been the most consistent performer at the position since camp opened, and the idea that Ozzy Trapilo, last year’s second-round pick, could be in the mix for Week 1 just isn’t realistic.”
Braxton Jones Made Most Sense as Bears’ Left Tackle
The Bears resisted the urge to track down a new long-term starting left tackle during the 2026 offseason, fully believing in Trapilo’s ability to eventually bounce back from the major knee injury that he sustained in last January’s playoff win over Green Bay.
Instead, Chicago invested in stopgap options. They re-signed Jones — a 44-game starter who had just seen his rookie contract expire — and added former top-10 pick Jedrick Willis Jr. in free agency in March, dropping a pair of veterans into the group to compete with Kiran Amegadjie (2024 third-round pick) and Theo Benedet for roster spots.
From the beginning, though, Jones has seemed like the most likely to win the job.
Jones, a 2022 fifth-round pick, had a serviceable run over his first three seasons as the Bears’ starting left tackle and looked to be on the verge of hitting the next level in 2024 before he fractured his ankle late in the year and had to undergo season-ending surgery.
While Jones also had his 2025 season muddled with injuries, he has looked like a new man since returning to the team on a one-year contract in 2026. He had a brief injury issue with his knee that kept him off the practice field for about a week earlier in camp, but he didn’t lose ground during his time away and is already back in the lineup again.
So long as Jones stays healthy, the left tackle job seems his to lose.
Will Bears Cut Kiran Amegadjie & Jedrick Wills Jr.?
With Jones closing in on the opening-day left tackle job, the Bears have some decisions to make about the other offensive tackles vying for places on their initial 53-man roster.
The two clearest roster locks as of August 25 are Jones and All-Pro right tackle Darnell Wright, who just signed a four-year, $116 million extension with the Bears on August 4. Biggs also indicated that the Bears are “pretty happy” with Benedet and the progress he has made in his third training camp, strengthening his case as their top swing tackle.
The questions start after those three. Trapilo is back at practice for the Bears and could take the fourth — and presumably final — spot in their offensive tackle room if the team avoids leaving him on the injury list to start the season. But if Trapilo stays on the PUP list (where he does not count against the 53-man limit), there would be a spot available.
Whether Wills or Amegadjie is more suited to take it is unknown, though. Wills has way more starting experience, but Amegadjie is a recent Day 2 pick whom the Bears may not yet be willing to dump, especially given his versatility to play along the O-line interior.
The Bears must reduce to the 53-man roster limit by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 30.
Chicago Bears Have ‘Clear Leader’ Emerge in Left Tackle Competition