Former 5-time Pro Bowler delivers bold Braxton Jones claim Bears fans must hear

Chicago Bears fans are a bit nervous going into the 2026 season due to the second straight year of uncertainty at the left tackle position.

2025 second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo appears to be the future at the left tackle position, but his injury will cost him most of the 2026 campaign, leaving the competition to Braxton Jones, Jedrick Wills, and Theo Benedet. Former five-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead spoke with FOX 32's Cassie Carlson to talk about working with Jones in the offseason and how he's bouncing back from his injury last year.

"I'm excited about Braxton. His confidence is growing daily. Super talented, very strong, physical, smart, tough, all the things. His issue has been durability. It's been injury and we all have those challenges throughout our career. I probably was the most injured player ever, so it's a part of the game and it's hard to get through it. It's a lot of mental adversity that you got to battle through. What I've seen from Braxton and what I know of Braxton moving forward is this is a person that is sure of himself now that he knows that he has the ability to go out and execute at a high level. He's done the work and he really wants to prove his work to himself. Not the masses, not the fans or the media to prove to himself that he can play this game at the highest level. Because he's starting to really believe that and that's where it has to start. If you have that self-doubt, it's going to reflect on the field. He's removing that through work, through technique, through perfecting his craft and I'm very excited for Braxton Jones."

Braxton Jones looks poised for a strong 2026 season at left tackle

Jones started the 2025 season as the starter at left tackle before being replaced by Benedet and suffering an injury that cost him most of the season. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 55.5, with his main weakness in run blocking at 47.2.

Last year was a revolving door at left tackle with four different starters from Week 1 of the regular season to the NFC Divisional Round game. While it remains unknown whether Trapilo will get the job back, the focus of training camp is on finding the right guy to fill the role at the start of the season.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been complimentary of Jones throughout the offseason, so he seems to have the edge to win the job based on that and his experience in this system. That doesn't mean he will keep the job, but the hope is that he will play well enough to never lose it again.

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After the emerging concerns at center as well, Jones is desperately needed to play well at left tackle and protect Caleb Williams' blind side. It will go a long way in this franchise, making a Super Bowl run in 2026.

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