It had been since 2024 since Chicago Bears left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. had been on a football field after his knee injury, and he wanted to use the Bears as his comeback launching pad.
Wills was a former first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns back in 2020, which is what made the preseason opener this year a perfect setting for Wills to prove himself. He split left tackle reps with Kiran Amegadjie at left tackle, as they battle with Braxton Jones to be the starter until Ozzy Trapilo returns from his injury.
The story was set, and everything was aligned for what would be a great story for Bears fans to tell for a long time, with Wills going up against his old team in the preseason. One single play, though, completely crushed that dream and might have even put Wills on the hot seat moving forward.
One play in Bears' preseason opener has Jedrick Wills Jr. in deep trouble on the roster
It happened late in the second quarter right before the two-minute warning. Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent was dropping back into the pocket, and all of a sudden saw his head almost get ripped off by Browns defender Julian Okwara
for a nine-yard loss.
When watching the replay, it was as clear as day that Okwara just ran past Wills, who never had a shot at blocking him, to get the sack. It was ugly for a former first-round starter to get beat that badly by a backup.
On the very next play, Bagent threw an interception, but if Bears fans watched that rep by Wills, he got beat again and allowed another pressure. That pressure caused Bagent to throw it sooner than he wanted and played a part in the pick.
While it wasn't all doom and gloom for Wills in the game, it was pretty clear that Amegadjie was the better left tackle and looked to be in control. It was all about who would come out as the more consistent left tackle, and Amegadjie seemed to be that guy. The Bears would go on to beat the Browns 34-10 in their preseason opener.
Jones probably still comes out as the winner at left tackle since he has the coaches' support and has been in this offense longer, with more playing time. The question is who will back him up between Wills and Amegadjie.
Read more: Bears' preseason opener exposed massive roster headache (in the best way)
This game showed that Amegadjie is ahead in that category, leaving Wills' future with the Bears in question. If he doesn't pick up on his performance over the next two weeks, he might not be in Chicago for very long.
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