Former Bears lineman squashes any growing sentiment about popular LT option

With Braxton Jones working his way back from the ankle injury that ended his 2024 season early, the Chicago Bears had an open competition at left tackle during training camp. It was not surprising Jones was the Week 1 starter, but it felt like it was mostly by default that than he won the job.

Jones was the clear weak link in pass protection along the Bears' offensive line over the first two games this season. Then he had a good performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 to briefly set aside questions about his job security. During the Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones was benched. With right tackle Darnell Wright out due to an elbow injury, the Bears had Theo Benedet and rookie Ozzie Trapilo as their offensive tackles for the rest of that game.

When the Bears come out of their bye week in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders, it's looking like Benedet will be the starting left tackle. While he's probably not totally out of the picture, any deference to Jones' experience is gone as Johnson's previous promise of an ongoing evaluation of the situation has clearly come to fruition.

Former Bears' lineman squashes idea about left tackle option

Former Bears center Olin Kreutz was on 670 The Score's "Spiegel and Holmes" on Friday to talk about a variety of topics regarding this year's team. The left tackle situation was of course among them, and Kreutz gave a definitive answer when co-host Matt Spiegel asked about moving Wright to left tackle in the middle of the season.

"I wouldn't", Kreutz said. "I wouldn't, especially coming off an injury, and the fact he didn't work any of it in camp. He had no reps at left tackle. Now, if you get to a position where you have to do it... say Theo gets injured or gets banged up, and you gotta move somebody over there, it's probably gonna be Darnell Wright if Braxton can't go. But I would think right now it's gonna be Theo at left tackle, Darnell Wright, if he is healthy, at right tackle."

Kreutz acknowledged how it's possible Wright may be taking some practice reps at left tackle as a contingency plan, and he did play the position for one year in college at Tennessee. Kruetz also reinforced the idea that left tackle was/is a known issue, and any signs of panic to fix it would be alarming. But when it comes down to it, trying Benedet there can't hurt as Jones' performance proved worthy of a benching.

Switching sides of the offensive line sounds like a simple thing, in a broad sense, but it's not. Everything an offensive lineman has to be technically sound with footwork, hand placement, etc., is the opposite of what you've been doing.

While Wright certainly has the athleticism to be a left tackle, and he can lean on having some experience there from his college career, having him make the switch midseason would not be ideal. On the other hand, Benedet has been taking practice reps at both tackle spots all along in his role as the swing tackle.

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As the Bears figure out their left tackle situation, the idea of moving Wright over is interesting and an easy talking point. But all outward signs point to him only being an option if all other options fail, possibly including going back to Jones if it doesn't work with Benedet.