Bears want 'clarity' at LT to protect QB Williams

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- After 17 training camp practices, the Chicago Bears still are looking for their starting left tackle to protect Caleb Williams' blind side.

The position battle that has headlined the offseason in Chicago began with a three-player race among incumbent starter Braxton Jones, rookie Ozzy Trapilo and 2024 third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie. This week, former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet, who spent the 2024 season on the Bears' practice squad, entered the mix and earned first-team reps there for three straight practices.

With the competition to protect Williams becoming more convoluted, coach Ben Johnson said he's looking for "clarity" as the team evaluates its options.

"We'll go as long as we need to go to find the right guy," Johnson said. "But we'd like to see someone go ahead and make it clear to us that he is that guy, and we just haven't seen that yet as a staff. There's been too much up and down."

The Bears hosted a 135-minute practice Friday with the Buffalo Bills ahead of the teams' game Sunday at Soldier Field. Johnson said the joint session and second preseason game would go a long way toward helping the team find its opening day starting left tackle ahead of Week 1 against Minnesota on Sept. 8.

But Johnson left the door open for the team to make a change after regular-season play begins.

"We'd love to go ahead and solidify that spot and move forward from there," Johnson said. "And it might be one of those things where, when we make that decision, it's not final for the season. It could be we have to reassess after a couple of weeks of the season or by the bye week we might have to reassess. It might be something that goes on. Wouldn't be ideal, but that's the thing with the league."

For a third consecutive day, Benedet started at left tackle with the first team during the first 11-on-11 period while Jones got his first reps with the starters during a red zone session. Benedet manned left tackle during the two-minute drill and started the final move-the-ball period before being replaced by Jones after four snaps (the offensive line was flagged for back-to-back false starts to start the drill).

The former University of British Columbia lineman has taken most of his reps with the first-team offense during the Bears' last three practices after logging 32 snaps at right tackle and 13 at left tackle in Chicago's 24-24 tie with Miami on Sunday.

"He's right in the middle of it," Johnson said of Benedet's spot in the left tackle competition. "I've been very, very excited about Theo and what he's done both on the right and the left side. He was probably overlooked to start this competition, but the longer this thing's gone on, there's a strong argument for what he's put on tape."

Jones, a 2022 fifth-round pick, entered training camp with 40 starts over three seasons at left tackle but had ground to make up after missing all of spring workouts while recovering from a fractured ankle sustained last December.

While Johnson said that he expected Jones' experience would help him in trying to maintain his starting position, the Bears coach viewed the competition as a "blank slate" entering training camp. Though Jones has had ample first-team work since late July, the holes in his game have been prevalent enough to keep him from reclaiming his starting spot.

"On the day off, [Jones] and I had a little communication," Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar told reporters this week. "I thought on Friday against Miami in the one-on-ones [during a joint practice] -- and I'm not speaking out of the side of my mouth here -- I saw him set with balance. His hips were down, and he used his length, and I saw a player that we can win with. When I watched him Sunday, as I told him, I said you reverted back to whatever this is for you, but that's not acceptable, and so every day we have to go in and we'll have a standard. We'll maintain that standard or hold those guys to that, because what he does, or anybody playing the left tackle or any other position, impacts the entirety of our group."

Trapilo, who was drafted 56th overall, has been in the left tackle mix since the spring. While Trapilo started 10 games at left tackle in 2022, most of his playing experience came at right tackle (24 starts from 2023-24) with his best season coming in 2023, when he allowed one sack and a 2.1% pressure rate.

This week, the Bears moved Trapilo back to right tackle with the second-team unit in hopes of cross-training him at both spots. Johnson said that the primary focus for improvement with Trapilo is with his play speed.

"There are times where the feet have gotten a little bit slow at times, both in the run game and in pass pro," Johnson said. "The mental of just speeding up, ball, snap, let's go ahead and get in a good physical position here to block the man in front of me, it's been a little bit of up and down."

The fourth member of the left tackle competition is Amegadjie, who missed five practices and the Bears' first preseason game with a leg injury. He returned to practice Monday but has taken reps only with the backup units.

"He's missing some quality reps there," Johnson said Aug. 8. "He was getting better, too. That's the shame of it. He's getting better. We were very pleased with the trajectory in which he was headed. Hopefully we'll get him back here sooner rather than later so he can get right back into that mix."

While the Bears will play several left tackles Sunday, a rotation in regular-season games is not the route Johnson wants to travel.

"This is not going to be a revolving door," Johnson said. "That's not what we want. We want one guy to clearly come out and say this is his job."