The Chicago Bears held a competition at left tackle throughout training camp and the preseason. Four different guys had opportunities at the job. Braxton Jones was the incumbent starter for the previous three years. Kiran Amegadjie came in as a 3rd round pick last year, as did undrafted free agent Theo Benedet. Lastly, there was Ozzy Trapilo, their 2nd round pick this past April. Despite plenty of twists and turns, Jones managed to hang onto the job when the dust settled. Of course, the coaches didn’t seem overly certain about it. Ben Johnson indicated the decision was not set in stone.
Now we know why.
Jones has looked rough through the first two weeks. We always knew that you had to live with certain deficiencies in his game. Yet something has looked off since the season began. It still seems as if he’s not healthy. Opponents have taken full advantage, disrupting several offensive plays. The numbers are even less flattering. Football Insights released a data chart showing every team’s allowed pressure on dropbacks. It includes the percentage of each position on the line, showing where most of it is coming from.
If you’re a Jones fan, I suggest you look away.
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Braxton Jones is a liability. Plain and simple.
Only three left tackles have given up a higher percentage of their team’s pressures, according to that chart. Yet even that is misleading because two of those teams have better overall pressure rates than the Bears. When digging deeper, Braxton Jones has allowed 13 pressures in two games. That is the most by any tackle in the NFL. The next closest is Josh Conerly, a rookie, with 11. The other three in the neighborhood are a second-year tackle who is still somewhat inexperienced. The other two are backups forced into action by injuries.
Not exactly the company you want to keep, especially when you’re trying to fight for a new contract. Unless things turn around drastically in the next few weeks, not only will Jones face the prospect of hitting free agency without a deal, but could also get benched even before that.
