Is Braxton Jones nothing to worry about?

The NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. this week predictably fueled the Bears’ offseason momentum following the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach: 

• Johnson continued to be everything that Matt Eberflus was not as a communicator — clear, confident, organized and detailed. Where Eberflus’ HITS principle sounded too rah-rah-collegiate, Johnson’s explanation of the importance of EPA (Expected Points Added — I had to look it up) over turnover-differential seemed like a 21st-century football revelation. He sounded like Marc Trestman with a better plan. 

• Johnson’s teardown/rebuild plan for quarterback Caleb Williams continues to be a breath of fresh air after Williams’ choppy development under Shane Waldron, Thomas Brown, Kerry Joseph, Ryan Griffin and Robbie Picazo (Did I miss anybody?). Johnson has an even larger support system for Williams — Johnson, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, pass game coordinator Press Taylor, offensive assistant Picazo and website writer Larry Mayer for all we know. But Johnson told CHGO’s Adam Hoge and The Athletic’s Adam Jahns he will limit the number of voices in Williams’ ear, which is good. After watching Williams last year, that’s one thing he has in common with Jay Cutler — the fewer voices in his ear, the better. 

• Safety Jaquan Brisker is cleared and ready for football activities after missing the final 12 games with a concussion. 

• Cornerback Kyler Gordon’s contract extension seems like a fait accompli — a priority that likely will be done sooner than later. 

• Johnson had a good conversation with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson — whose second season, which was probably better than it looked, was marred by a massive disciplinary failure on the Hail Mary against the Commanders that greased the skids for a 10-game losing streak. A new coaching staff determined to correct the accountability flaws under Eberflus might be the best thing to happen to Stevenson, who still didn’t understand his mistake on the Hail Mary six weeks after it happened. 

But if there was one sour note, it was at a critical position at a particularly critical key to Johnson’s success — the offensive line. Starting left tackle Braxton Jones, who had surgery for an ankle injury he suffered against the Lions at Soldier Field on Dec. 22, likely will be limited in training camp. So he’ll likely be even more limited throughout the offseason, when Johnson’s offense is being taught and installed in on-field OTAs and mini-camp practices. 

Jones, a fifth-round draft pick from Southern Utah in 2022, has been a starter since Week 1 of his rookie season. He played every snap in 2022, but missed six games in 2023 and five last season. And while he’s strong in the run game, his pass blocking continues to be a weakness in his game, even after acknowledging a glaring need for improvement following his encouraging rookie season. 

Jones figured to face a challenge for his starting spot this year whether or not he was healthy — more likely from 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie than a high draft pick in 2025. Amegadjie had a rough rookie season — slowed by recovery from a season-ending quad injury at Yale in 2023, then he struggled noticeably against the Vikings in his first NFL start. But general manager Ryan Poles isn’t going to give up on him quickly — Amegadjie deserves as many chances as Velus Jones (another third round pick who struggled at the start) got. 

And while seven of the 10 offensive linemen drafted in the third round last year were starters in Week 18 (including four full-time starters), Amegadjie’s unimpressive rookie season might not have been defining. With Jones still recovering, it’s more likely than not that Amegadjie will be the starting left tackle when off-seaason practices begin.

The Bears have upgraded at every other position — Joe Thuney at left guard, Drew Dalman at center, Jonah Jackson (with Bears’ fingers crossed) at right tackle, and Darnell Wright presumably better in Year 3 after a minor step forward in Year 2. 

Bears left tackle Braxton Jones gives fans at Soldier Field a thumbs-up after he suffered an ankle injury against the Lions on Dec. 22.

The issue, as it has been for years with the Bears’ offensive line, is continuity. Especially with three new starters (Thuney, Dalman and Jackson), the Bears’ offensive line needs as much opportunity as possible to develop the chemistry that makes any line effective. There’s not much room for a regular-season rotation like Nate Davis/Ryan Bates at right guard last year or Teven Jenkins/Lucas Patrick at right guard in 2022. A tag-team set-up at left tackle (Jones/Amegadjie, or anyone else) into the preseason likely would be a drag on a newly constituted offensive line. 

It’s one position on a five-man line, but not a small problem. In fact, you can argue that a similar scenario ultimately doomed the Chiefs in the Super Bowl last season, when second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia beat out 2023 third-round pick Wanya Morris at left tackle to start the regular season. Suamataia was benched and replaced by Morris in Week 3. But Morris also faltered, forcing Thuney to move from left guard to left tackle in Week 13. It did not end well. 

Safe to say, the sooner the Bears have a quality starting left tackle, the better.  

The Bears used 25 unique starting offensive line combinations in 51 games in GM Ryan Poles' first three seasons. No combination started more than five games together.