Some Chicago Bears fans might have actually been surprised to see that former starting left tackle Braxton Jones was to be re-signed to the team on a one-year, $10 million contract.
Jones was the Day 1 starter for the Bears for about the first month of the 2025 season until Theo Benedet took over after the bye week and held on to the job for almost two months before he got hurt and was replaced by Ozzy Trapilo, who seems like the future starter. Last season, Jones was on IR for a good portion of the season and wasn't activated until close to the playoffs.
The expectation was that Jones would end up signing elsewhere, but apparently did not get the kind of market he was hoping for and decided to come back for another year. Now, with the possibility of Jones starting in 2026 due to Trapilo's awful ruptured pectoral tendon, this could actually be good news for the Bears on multiple fronts.
Braxton Jones being re-signed might be a good thing for the Bears
Jones knows Bears head coach Ben Johnson's offense from being in the system last season, so that familiarity will at least avoid a learning curve. The good part is that Jones can jump right in as the starter without the offense missing a beat.
Another aspect to consider is that Trapilo's injury might not be as serious as some might have thought. Poles announced at the end of the season that he expected Trapilo to miss the start of the 2026 season, but could the case be now that he might not miss as much time to start the year?
Chicago also brought back Benedet on a one-year deal, so there is an expectation that Jones and Benedet are going to have to battle for the starting job. Benedet proved to be the better run blocker, but Jones was more reliant in pass blocking.
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There's a chance that the Bears could look in free agency still for a left tackle, but the chances of that dropped with Jones returning, so expect Jones or Benedet to hold down the fort to start 2026 until Trapilo is healthy enough to play again. Jones should go into training camp a second straight season as the favorite to win the job over Benedet.