Braxton Jones is set to enter Chicago Bears training camp as the leading candidate at left tackle, but that does not mean the job is safe. He held the starting spot through the entire offseason program, yet the Bears could still have a different answer on the field by Thanksgiving if Ozzy Trapilo gets back on schedule and comes through practice without any setback.
That is why this matters now. The Bears have spent the 2025-26 season shuffling the roster, and the left tackle spot is one of several that could change before the year settles. had the Bears’ starting lineups 17th among 32 teams, a reminder that stability is part of the problem. In that kind of setup, every camp rep matters because Week 1 is not the same as Week 13.
Jones has the edge for a simple reason: he has already done the job and kept it through the offseason program. Last offseason, the final left tackle decision did not come until just before the season opener, so the Bears have already shown they are willing to wait. This time, Jones is the early answer, not because the competition is over, but because he is the one currently standing in the role.
The part that complicates the picture is Trapilo’s recovery timeline. His return to practice is projected no earlier than Weeks 7-9, which leaves only a narrow runway before Thanksgiving in Week 13. For him to take over then, he would need to be back, healthy, and cleared of any concern about re-injury. That is possible, but it is not automatic, and that gap between possible and likely is where Jones gains value.
The same pattern runs through the rest of the roster. Tyrique Stevenson is getting one more opportunity to prove he can hold down a full-time outside job, but the coaching staff wanted more consistency from the cornerback position and he is in the final year of his contract. If the uneven play continues, Malik Muhammad is the alternative. At center, Ben Johnson made it plain that the ball is in rookie Logan Jones’ court to push Garrett Bradbury, a veteran with real NFL experience, for the starting job.
Even the departures point in the same direction. The Bears let Pro Bowl alternate Nahshon Wright walk in free agency, another sign that this staff is willing to keep jobs open until someone forces the issue. That leaves Braxton Jones in a real fight, not a ceremonial one, and it makes the left tackle spot one of the clearest swing positions on the roster. The early favorite may still be Jones, but the calendar gives Trapilo a path back into the picture.
So the next question is not whether the Bears have a starter for Week 1. It is whether Braxton Jones can keep the job long enough to make Trapilo’s late-season return irrelevant. If he can, the Bears get a clean answer at a position they badly need settled. If he cannot, Thanksgiving could become the point where the depth chart starts to shift again.
