When thinking about the Chicago Bears‘ list of competitions going into training camp this year, the big one in the eyes of many is left tackle. It isn’t what anybody wanted. The Bears had hoped Ozzy Trapilo would lock that position down by the end of 2025. It looked like he had. Then he tore his patellar tendon. Now the team is left with another competition featuring mostly familiar names. Braxton Jones is the early favorite, with former 3rd round pick Kiran Amegadjie and former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet as challengers. The only new face is former 1st round pick Jedrick Wills.
On paper, the biggest threat to Jones is probably Wills, since he has the most experience and upside. If you polled Bears fans, most of them would pick him. Few, if any, would pick Benedet. After all, he was the one who got benched in favor of Trapilo last season. However, that hasn’t deterred the Canadian-born tackle from forging ahead. In fact, he has a few reasons to believe his odds are as good or better than they were last year. It starts with how improved his body has become, as he detailed to Jeff Joniak on the Bears Etc. podcast.
“Yeah, I would say it’s night and day. I’m 15 pounds heavier, too, than when I got in the NFL and it’s been good weight. So yeah.”
Size and anchor strength were two big concerns with him, so this is big news. The other key factor for Benedet has been the work he’s been doing with former All-Pro tackle Terron Armstead. Much of it centers on his ability to interpret what Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar wants.
“It’s been huge because that’s the advantage of Terron is he played under Dan. So he knows what Dan wants. He knows how Dan talks. Terron almost can take it a level up and beyond in terms of being very position specific at left tackle.”
Theo Benedet knows the challenge ahead of him.
One of the reasons the coaches felt comfortable giving him opportunities last season was his run-blocking ability. He showed the necessary power and temperament to create movement in the ground game. He was one of their best blocker in zone-run situations. Unfortunately, the same thing kept holding him back. Theo Benedet was also their weakest pass protector. He logged 334 snaps last season, allowing 26 total pressures on the quarterback. For context, Darnell Wright allowed 24 in 740 snaps.
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It was impossible to ignore how much of a weak link he was whenever the Bears dropped back to pass. They had to give him help almost constantly through running back chips and tight ends lined up next to him. The coaches finally saw enough and elected to go with Trapilo. Then, when the rookie got injured, they shifted left guard Joe Thuney out to left tackle rather than give the job back to Benedet. Not the biggest vote of confidence. Still, they seem at least open to giving him another shot.
Every pass rep will be must-win for him.
The Bears already know he can run-block. They need to see if he’s made any progress in his ability to keep the quarterback clean. Expectations remain low. Adding weight is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t correct the other issue of his short arms. That is something he can’t fix. His only solution is to improve his technique enough to work around such a problem. Armstead, to his credit, has been smart enough to give him tips on this exact issue, understanding that every blocker has strengths and weaknesses.
This is easily the most important next few weeks of Benedet’s career. A successful camp gives him another chance to start in the NFL. Failing to make an impression likely relegates him to career backup. It is almost impossible that another team will give him this sort of consideration that the Bears have. That is why he is putting in as much work as possible. If he doesn’t reach the mountaintop, it won’t be because he lacked the will to try. He’s preparing for war, and that mentality already gives him an edge.
