Cubs News: Resilient and Ready: A big congrats to Braxton Jones

Jamie Sabau - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 7 hours ago

In what was one of the many training camp battles for the Bears this past summer, Ben Johnson has finally named his starter at the left tackle position for Monday's season opener with the Vikings. This was a battle that was expected to go all the way to the bitter end, and it was a decision that didn't come lightly, as Braxton Jones has been named the Bears' week 1 starter at left tackle.

The now four-year veteran, Jones, has been starting games at left tackle for the past three seasons, but given the Bears' overall struggles on the offensive line, some felt that a change would be coming. You could make the case that this was the first time in his career where he really had to earn his spot, as the competition between him, Rookie Ozzie Trapilo, and second-year man Kiran Amegadjie may have been friendly, but it was as fierce as they come.

If you look back at how things were unfolding when training camp opened, Trapilo turned the most heads early in camp, and it was starting to look like he might secure the starting spot. While that could happen at some point, Johnson is opting for experience over youth to open the season, and you have to wonder if the experience Jones has played a role in his decision.

For Jones, the decision to name him the starter is surreal and one of those full-circle moments for him, as he was lost for the season last year with a serious ankle injury that put the start of this season in doubt. Even if he proved that he was fully healthy by the time the season started, given how severe his injury was, no one would've been shocked to see the Bears open the season with a new left tackle, so to have Jones back in the mix goes to show the toughness and work ethic he has to get back on the field.

The former Southern Utah standout is no stranger to earning his spot, as he was a sixth-round pick by the Bears in 2022 and had to work for everything since arriving in Chicago. Nothing has ever been handed to him, and that alone is something the Bears love about him, as he will never take anything for granted.

Injury or not, Jones continued to improve as the offseason progressed. By the time the team prepared for their preseason opener, he had emerged as the clear front-runner for the job, despite some initial reports to the contrary. Jones returned to action in week two of the preseason and wound up starting the final two weeks at left tackle, which in turn forced some offensive line shuffling in the final two games.

The most significant move was sending Trapilo from the left side, where he started week one, over to the right side, where he would act as more of a swing tackle as opposed to a straight right tackle, when you look at the rest of the Bears' offensive line with Jonah Jackson, Joe Thuney, Darnell Wright, and Drew Dalman, all of them are either first or second-year Bears, as this offensive line has finally gotten the makeover it needed.

That makes Jones the longest-tenured player on the offensive line, and that is an accomplishment in itself for a sixth-round player. However, to be clear, Jones knows his job isn't safe, as is none of the week one starters at this point. Throughout camp, Johnson has made it clear that just because you are starting a specific game, it doesn't mean you will start there the following week.

Unless your name is Caleb Williams, that statement applies to everyone on this roster, including the veterans. To put that into perspective, should Jones struggle out of the gates against the Vikings, or heaven forbid, the first few weeks, he won't last long as the team's starting tackle, as Johnson won't hesitate to make the move and change things up.

However, with the weight of not knowing if he would be starting or not, Jones can relax and get back to playing his brand of football, as he will be playing for something far bigger than a starting role this season. In what is a contract year for Jones, the fourth-year man has an opportunity to land a massive deal next offseason should he prove he can remain healthy and be the guy protecting Williams' blindside. Whether that is in Chicago or somewhere else is a different story, but Jones has a lot of money on the line this season, so expect him to come out and prove his worth.