Ben Johnson may have unintentionally added fuel to growing roster speculation with early impression on one rookie draft pick
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson shares more insight on his first impressions of new rookie center Logan Jones amid speculation about a trade involving veteran Garrett Bradbury.
When Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman announced his sudden retirement earlier this offseason, the Chicago Bears quickly committed significant resources to address the unexpected void at that key position.
The first move involved trading a future fifth-round pick for veteran center Garrett Bradbury, who recently reworked his contract that has one year remaining on the deal. During the 2026 NFL Draft, Chicago doubled-up on the position using a second-round pick on Logan Jones, the first center selected off the board.
After drafting Jones, an experienced player out of Iowa, many have speculated whether or not the Bears could flip Bradbury again if Jones wins the starting job outright as a rookie. Well, head coach Ben Johnson just unintentionally added fuel to that fire.
Chicago Bears HC Ben Johnson shares first impression of Logan Jones ahead of rookie minicamp
Later today, the Bears will kick off rookie minicamp and it’s going to be the first on-field impression for Jones to see how quickly he can get up to speed. While speaking with reporters before practice, Johnson shared the first impression he had of the rookie.
“Logan was one that stood out,” Johnson told reporters. “My visit with him, when he was here, [I] was extremely impressed by the football knowledge, makeup, very mature. To me, it’s not we’re getting a rookie, we’re getting a guy that’s a little bit more of a seasoned player, which really is not uncommon for those Iowa linemen.”
The biggest argument for not starting Jones is that he’s a rookie and Johnson places a ton on the plate of the starting center in his offense. However, it’s clear Johnson believes Jones is intelligent enough to handle that workload. Now, Johnson gets to really know for sure by seeing Jones take it to the field.
“Time will tell,” Johnson said when asked how quickly Jones can be ready. “The ball’s in his court as far as I’m concerned. He understands that, just like everyone else, we’re looking to create competition. Consistency, day after day and building trust – not only with Caleb and the other quarterbacks but within that offensive line room and then obviously with the coaching staff. It’s just a matter of time to build trust.”
Building trust was a big theme last offseason with the incoming rookie class and it took time for those players to start getting integrated and on the field consistently, even into the regular season. Jones will have to really prove himself to unseat a veteran that just started in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
Even if he does win the job over Bradbury, the idea of having competition on the roster – all year long – makes me lean against flipping Bradbury.
It’s best to have multiple options throughout the season and flipping Bradbury for a future Day 3 pick doesn’t help the team has much as having an experienced player on the roster to bring the rookie along, whether he’s starting or not.