Ben Johnson is keeping the Taylor Decker dream alive for the Bears, but Chicago must weigh if it’s still the best decision to make
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson apparently reached out to the former Detroit Lions left tackle.
The left tackle position continues to be an unraveling situation for the Chicago Bears, but it’s clear general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson are keeping all options on the table to address arguably the most important position on the offensive line.
Last season, the Bears started four different players at the left tackle spot in Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet, Ozzy Trapilo, and Joe Thuney. Trapilo showed the most promise of the four, but suffered a patellar tendon injury in the wild card round that will force him to miss the majority of the 2026 season. Speaking about the state of the position, OL coach Dan Roushar was pretty blunt.
“I told all three of them this, I know what the left tackle position looks like in this league,” Roushar told former Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead on Armstead’s podcast. “You were the standard. That’s a rare player that comes along, but somebody has to play that position similar to that. It’s a faceless, nameless, guy right now. It has to become the way we play the game at left tackle similar to what’s being done at right tackle. Is that player in the building? I think there’s guys that have traits, but not consistent enough and not the way we want it done consistently.”
In free agency, the Bears re-signed Jones at good value to see if he can regain the trust of the staff now that he’s fully healthy. As an insurance policy, the Bears also took a one-year flier on former first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr. after taking a year off to finally get fully healthy.
The one option the Bears passed on was former Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker, who was surprisingly released by the team after a decade with the team. Is he still an option? He’s certainly a name to consider (if the Bears can create the space) and a player Johnson has been in contact with.
Ben Johnson is keeping the window open to potentially reunite with Taylor Decker
According to Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network, who sat down with Decker for an exclusive interview, Johnson has checked in on the former Lions’ tackle and shown more support than the Lions have since his release.
“Instead, it’s been radio silence. It’s uncomfortable. It’s awkward. It feels like a high school breakup, where you can’t make eye contact when passing each other in the hall,” Rogers wrote. “You know who did call Decker? Ben Johnson, his former offensive coordinator and head coach of the Chicago Bears. Not to recruit him to the division rival, but to check in, like a friend does.”
It’s a great gesture from Johnson to check in on Decker and not immediately turn it into a sales pitch. At the same time, it’s a relationship business and Johnson already lured one former Lion to Chicago this offseason in wide receiver Kalif Raymond.
The problem is, the Bears have no cap space, at all. Chicago already has to make more room to onboard the upcoming rookie class, much less sign a veteran left tackle that’s expecting a sizable contract. The door may be closed, but the window is still open to make this a possibility.
What about the 2026 NFL Draft?
Great question. The Bears did extensive work last week on two top prospects in Kadyn Proctor and Max Iheanachor after Poles attended the Pro Days at Alabama and Arizona State (Iheanachor also revealed he has an upcoming visit with the Bears).
Drafting one of the top offensive tackles would give the Bears a much more stable option at the position, but it’s not going to be a instant fix like Decker would be. Proctor and Iheanachor aren’t considered blue-chip prospects and there’s a reason why either/both players could be legit options with the 25th overall pick.
In all reality, the Bears have likely made their move at left tackle by re-signing Jones and adding Wills to compete alongside Benedet. For 2026, that’s adequate enough until Trapilo can return and the Bears can see what they have in the 2025 second-round pick after his recovery process.
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