Chicago Bears fans are waking up Friday morning with nightmares of the Dallas Cowboys trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, only to realize that it actually happened.
Every fan knows how dominant Parsons has been in his four short seasons in Arlington as he racked up at least 12 or more sacks in each of those years, been a three-time All-Pro, and a four-time Pro Bowler. He's considered one of the great young defenders in the NFL and for the next five years will be making life miserable for the Bears.
It certainly has a seismic affect on the outlook of the NFC North as the Packers instantly become Super Bowl contenders with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings also in the conversation. Bears might also be realizing while sipping on their coffees and eating breakfast that two people on the team just became important at their jobs.
And no, it's not Ben Johnson or Caleb Williams.
Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright's roles on Bears intensifies in 2025
Picking both starting offensive tackles seems like a very obvious thing to do. They are both responsible for keeping Williams upright and creating running lanes for running back D'Andre Swift, but they became so much more than that.
They have the responsibility to trying to block Parsons.
This is where the bad news comes: Wright hasn't been the strongest in pass protection. He picked up a grade of 75.4 in pass blocking, which ranked 35th out of 104 tackles last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Not a bad grade, but his 82.2 run blocking grade is much better. Not a significant flaw in his game, but 34 other tackles in 2024 were better than him in pass protection, so take that for whatever fans want to.
For all the criticism Jones got during the preseason and training camp for never running with the left tackle job, he did post an 80.8 PFF pass block grade in 2024, ranking 17th among tackles. That's a better score than Wright and should give some hope that he might be able to hold up.
The problem is, Bears fans saw Jones get beaten on multiple occasions during the preseason. It was clear and disappointing in a time when he needed to play at his best. He has been competing with Ozzy Trapilo and Theo Benedet for the starting left tackle job over the last few weeks, but all signs point towards Jones having the job, even if Johnson doesn't want to declare a winner.
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Jones and Wright are going to have a tough assignment in 2025, trying to make sure Parsons doesn't wreak havoc in the backfield with Williams passing the ball. If they aren't able to hold up their end of the bargain at tackles, the Bears could be in a world of hurt in 2025.