Bear Digest

Could Ben Johnson's comments on Braxton Jones mean Bears line changes?

A description of Braxton Jones' play to date and of pratice improvement seen from Ozzy Trapilo could indicate patience has run out for the current left tackle starter.
Gene Chamberlain|
Braxton Jones Stretching
Braxton Jones Stretching | Photo: Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson had said he thought it could be the bye week or later before the revamped offensive line would be hitting stride because they need to play together.

It's easy to wonder if there could be even more changes ahead after his assessment of left tackle Braxton Jones, who has been trying to make a comeback from ankle surgery while starting.

On Friday, Johnson didn't exactly paint a good picture of Jones' performances to date. It's enough to make anyone wonder how much longer he'll be starting.

"Braxton is ... he's doing a good job in terms of knowing the game plan," Johnson said. "I think he's started the first half of each game really strongly and we probably haven't had the second half finish that we wanted."

That was it. Knowing the game plan should be the basic prerequisite for everyone on the roster so that's saying little for Jones.

It was the kind of assessment to take everyone back to training camp when there was a left tackle battle between Jones, rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo and second-year undrafted tackle Theo Benedet.

Johnson doesn't want to reveal any possible lineup changes or plans at this point but they did get Benedet 11 snaps against Detroit at left tackle in the blowout. Benedet had the highest Pro Football Focus blocking grade of any Bears player in the game, although it was only 11 plays.

Jones had the lowest PFF grade of any offensive players who had at least 13 plays in the game.

Johnson described how he assesses play each week and decides who's playing.

"Each week we evaluate everybody on the roster and so if a guy is playing well we let them know that and say that they're playing winning football for us, and if guys aren't playing well then we have to look into how do we help them and put them in a better spot to succeed, or do we need to get somebody else in there.

"That's a conversation that we have for every player on the roster. We'll see where we go each week and we'll see where we go on game day."

Could he refer to a possible change coming at left tackle?

The possibility would be Benedet right away getting a start, but there are other potential moves.

It was rookie Ozzy Trapilo getting the plays in competition with Jones before Benedet ascended, and after they moved Trapilo to backup right tackle behind Darnell Wright the idea of the rookie starting at left tackle didn't really come up again.

It's possible they could simply go back to Trapilo.

The other possibility is letting Trapilo play right tackle and move Darnell Wright to left tackle in mid-season.

"We made the decision that that (left tackle) wasn't the best spot for him," Johnson said of Trapilo.

However, he has noticed Trapilo improving at practices with his quickness and movement at right tackle.

"There will be a point this season where he's playing for us," Johnson said flat out. "You know, is that this week or is that a few weeks down the road? I don't know but he's preparing as if he's ready to go."

Johnson could have been speaking hypothetically, in case of an injury, but it's possible he also meant Trapilo definitely would play and this was the plan.

Where they're headed with all of this will be interesting starting this week. One thing certain is they're happy with the play of Wright despite his four penalties.

"We're trying to do some different things with him, move him around, get him in space or have him pull a little bit, things that maybe he hasn't done a whole lot of in the past," Johnson said. "I think when you have a player of that caliber that has talent like him, that you do try to feature him on your offense."

Experimenting against a team struggling as much as the Cowboys are to get to quarterbacks with their rush might be a good idea.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.