Bears get the worst news after Braxton Jones' scary injury, bringing even more uncertainty to the starting left tackle's future in Chicago
The Chicago Bears took a major blow to the offensive line on Sunday against the Detroit Lions after losing two starters on the left side of the front.Left guard Teven Jenkins was the first to leave the game after re-aggravating a calf injury he was dealing with all week. A few plays later, left tackle […]
The Chicago Bears took a major blow to the offensive line on Sunday against the Detroit Lions after losing two starters on the left side of the front.
Left guard Teven Jenkins was the first to leave the game after re-aggravating a calf injury he was dealing with all week. A few plays later, left tackle Braxton Jones suffered a scary leg injury that forced him to be carted off the field with an air cast on.
On Monday morning, the Bears got a terrible news update on Jones' injury. According to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, Jones suffered a fractured ankle and is undergoing more tests to see what more damage was done during the play.
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs did offer some more comforting news that Jones will likely have surgery on the ankle later this week and the initial belief is that he avoided serious ligament damage along with other fractures.
Rapoport added that Jones will be faced with a four-month recovery, easily ending his 2024 season but hopefully the 25-year-old can be back before the start of training camp heading into the final season of his rookie contract.
The Bears drafted Jones with the 168th overall pick in the fifth-round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the first class brought in under general manager Ryan Poles. Since being drafted, Jones has started 40 games for the Bears at left tackle and only missed nine games due to various injuries over the last three seasons.
The latest injury makes an already cloudy future even more uncertain for Jones in Chicago. While he's been a serviceable left tackle, the Bears could look to add a considerable upgrade through the upcoming draft, which could lead to Jones finding a new home after his rookie contract plays out. Jones will also be in line for a pay increase in 2025 based on his Proven Performance Escalator.
Even though the play has been solid at a critical position, Jones' availability and ceiling makes will make this a tough decision. Jones has already dealt with two separate injuries this season, a knee injury earlier in the season that forced him to miss Weeks 9-10 and a concussion that held him out of the Week 15 loss. In his place, the Bears used both Larry Borom and rookie third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie at left tackle.
Amegadjie started for the Bears in Week 15 but allowed a bad strip sack and committed four penalties. On Sunday, the rookie was listed as a healthy inactive, leading to Borom coming in off the bench after Jones went down.
Based on that situation, Borom should be expected to start over the final two games. Against the Lions, Borom allowed two pressures on 31 pass blocking snaps. Prior to Week 16, Borom allowed six sacks on 124 pass blocking snaps. For the time being, the blindside could once again be a major concern for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.