5 Chicago Bears looking forward to the bye week

The Chicago Bears are about to embark on their bye week, and if it feels as though it is late in the season, that is because it is. This is the last week any team can have a bye week. For a team like the Bears, it may have been better if they had one earlier in the year, but they have managed.

Still, for these players, the bye week could not come soon enough.

5. Braxton Jones is ready for a much-needed break

Last season, Braxton Jones had 733 snaps. Before the Green Bay Packers game, Braxton Jones has 757 snaps at left tackle.

The Chicago Bears rookie has more snaps this season than any season he has ever played in his career. When you realize that Jones played a full season, which included bye weeks and extra rest at Southern Utah, and still has more NFL snaps in consecutive weeks, it is obvious that Jones has to be close to hitting a wall, if he has not hit it already.

It is one thing to take the jump from that low of a level to the NFL, but now to be overworked without a break is tough. Beyond that, Jones is the one player to not miss a single snap this season. That is impressive as well.

It is not a knock on Jones, and when you put his season into the context that we just did you gain more respect for his rookie year. Still, if anyone on this roster is looking forward to a week off, it is Jones. Perhaps we could see Jones take this breather and come back looking fresher than we have seen.

We could finally see him take some things he learned and apply them, and we may go into the offseason much more optimistic. This bye week is going to be huge for Braxton Jones.