The Chicago Bears feel they’ve done enough to address the most glaring holes on their roster. This was despite the difficult losses they suffered in free agency and via trade due to salary cap issues. Coby Bryant added some help at safety. Devin Bush stabilized the linebacker spot. Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street bolstered defensive tackle. Garrett Bradbury arrived via trade to plug the hole at center created by Drew Dalman’s retirement. All things considered, Bears GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson did a good job keeping things together.
However, there are lingering concerns about the left tackle position. Ozzy Trapilo is out for an indeterminate amount of time with that knee injury from January. The Bears opted for a solution-by-committee approach. They retained Theo Benedet, re-signed Braxton Jones, and brought in former 1st round pick Jedrick Wills from Cleveland. Johnson was asked about it during his interview session at the owners meetings in Phoenix. Let’s just say he passed on the opportunity to insist the Bears are set.
Ben Johnson left the door wide open.
“That’s something that Ryan and I always talk about. There’s a lot of ways that that could unfold. Obviously, you’d love to have your long-term starter for the next 10 years locked up. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, though. We don’t know. Ozzy’s coming off a pretty serious injury. Not sure if we’ll have him next year or at what point he’ll come up. And so we’re going to have an opportunity right now for a lot of competition. I feel good about Braxton being in that fold. Theo being in that fold. We signed Jedrick Wills, who I think has got a lot of talent himself. He’s hungry to prove that he’s capable of being where he was drafted. And so we’re going to see what we can end up doing there. And you can’t rule out the draft either.
So I think we’ve put ourselves in a really good situation to where much like last year we can go into this draft and stay true to our board and not force any pick. If there’s a tackle or a defensive tackle or a (defensive) end, I think we can go any direction we need to and stay true to that and feel pretty good about it. To give you clarity, it’s hard to say right now what that left tackle spot’s going to look like this year or five years from now.”
Ben Johnson doesn’t sound like somebody content with things.
It isn’t hard to understand why. As much as the head coach may like Trapilo, the unfortunate reality is that the young tackle will be gone for months, if not the entire season. Worse still, there is no telling if he can be the same player he was before. Patellar tendon injuries are difficult to fully recover from. It wouldn’t be smart for the Bears to bank everything on him returning to form. As for their other options? They already have answers on Benedet. He’s a good run blocker but has clear limitations in pass protection. Jones can be solid when healthy, but is what you’d call replaceable. As for Wills, he has a lot of talent but is coming off a severe knee injury and has questions about his personal love for the game.
While Ben Johnson might be telling the truth about his optimism for those players, there is no way he is certain they will solve the Bears’ problem. If that were true, the team wouldn’t be looking into top tackle prospects in this draft. Poles was already spotted scouting 1st round names like Kadyn Proctor and Max Iheanachor in person. It is safe to assume they’ve been looking at others as well. This team isn’t operating as if they’re confident in that position.
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One must not forget something critical about Johnson.
He has high standards. The head coach knows what great players at left tackle are supposed to look like. He worked with Laremy Tunsil in Miami and Taylor Decker in Detroit. He’s seen the best at the position up close. Johnson won’t lower his standards just to say the position is settled. He didn’t even go that far when Trapilo was starting. The last thing he wants is to be stuck in the same situation the Bears were in last season, constantly rotating guys to find a solution.
Jones and Wills should prepare themselves. While they’ve been given assurances they can compete for the starting job, they would be wise not to assume they will be the only two doing so. Barring some bad breaks on the board next month, the Bears will draft somebody. Johnson is willing to spend any resources necessary to find the answer. Considering the importance of left tackle on the football field, that isn’t a surprise. You’ll often find that eventual Super Bowl champions have good-to-great players at that position.
