‘He looked like a brand new man’ — Ben Johnson’s praise for recent draft pick provides encouragement for the status of a major roster need
The Chicago Bears new coaching staff are expecting to see a much different player after re-signing Braxton Jones.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t sugarcoat the team’s need at the left tackle position while talking to reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday.
“Obviously you’d love to have your long-term starter for the next 10 years locked up,” Johnson explained. “There’s a lot of uncertainty right now. We don’t know.”
Last season, the Bears started four different players at left tackle and the player that showed the most promise, second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo, suffered a “pretty serious” patellar tendon injury in the playoffs that will surely rule him out as an option in 2026. For the time being, the Bears have just five offensive tackles on the roster with four vying for the left tackle job.
While Johnson didn’t rule out the possibility of adding another player to the mix, potentially even by using the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, he did share plenty of encouragement for former fifth-round pick Braxton Jones, whom the team re-signed to a one-year deal.
Ben Johnson sees a brand new man in LT Braxton Jones after re-signing with Chicago
Jones started 44 games for the Bears since being selected with the 168th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. That alone made him a fifth-round success for the Bears and one of the top value selections made by general manager Ryan Poles.
Jones’ career, however, got derailed when he suffered a fractured fibula late his third season in 2024, an injury that forced him to miss the final two games of the season and the majority of the offseason under a new coaching staff. Even though Jones returned just in time to regain his starting job to open the 2025 regular season, his quality of play wasn’t up to par and lead to a roster change by Week 4.
“I think he would tell you he still didn’t feel 100 percent like himself from the prior year’s injury,” Johnson said of Jones. “What he put on tape those first four games, he didn’t feel like was very reflective of what he’s capable of. Looking back at it, we would agree with that. We think there’s more in there than what we saw.”
A few weeks later, Jones suffered a knee injury in practice that forced him onto the injured reserve and prevented him from getting the opportunity to see the field again in what was the final season of his rookie contract. When Jones hit free agency earlier this month, it was a quiet market until the Bears called with a one-year offer.
“Being able to re-sign with the Bears for another year and just the opportunity that is presented is amazing,” Jones said, via ChicagoBears.com. “I’m extremely grateful. I’m excited to show that I can go out and be full go.”
With a few months behind him since those injury concerns, Jones believes he’s back to his former self and is already showing the coaches a side of himself that they didn’t get the chance to see in 2025.
“I’m excited about where he’s at right now,” Johnson added. “He came in when he signed the contract and he looked like a brand new man, as far as I’m concerned. This guy was beefed up, he was probably 310 pounds, and he looked yoked up. I know he’s very determined to get his career trajectory back to where it was before.”
All Jones needed was an opportunity to prove himself and what he can do now that he’s fully healthy. The Bears gave him that opportunity while upping the competition to truly bring out the best in him against Jedrick Wills Jr., Theo Benedet, and any other addition added to the room.
Once we get to training camp, we’ll see what kind of player Jones can be in 2026 and if it’ll be enough to earn the opening day starting job for the fifth consecutive season.
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