4 Chicago Bears Veterans Who Could Lose Their Starting Jobs in Preseason

NFL preseason kicks off tomorrow, and the Bears host the Browns for their first exhibition contest on Saturday afternoon.

While some position battles have already been wrapped up (undrafted rookie long-snapper Beau Gardner and center Garrett Bradbury have earned congratulations), others still have yet to be decided. A few veterans are in a rock-solid position to make the active roster, but have a loose grasp on their respective starting jobs.

Which players will need to come out with a strong performance in the preseason (or at least hope their main competition for playing time doesn't make the most of their opportunity)?

Braxton Jones

Left tackle Braxton Jones has long been considered the front-runner for the starting left tackle job. However, a strong training camp performance from Jedrick Wills Jr. has leveled the playing field. Third-year man Kiran Amegadjie seemingly having a legitimate shot to win the starting job also complicates Jones' situation. As does the fact that he's now dealing with an undisclosed injury that's kept him out of practice over the past week.

Ozzy Trapilo speeding down the road to recovery might be incredible for the Bears, but it's another factor that could lead to Jones standing on shaky ground. It's fair to question whether the front office would have even brought him back for another year if they knew Trapilo could be ready much sooner than expected. He solidified the LT position after taking over the starting job in Week 12 last season, and it feels safe to assume he would've been the unquestioned starter if he hadn't ruptured his Achilles in the wild card matchup against Green Bay.

Cam Lewis

Is it cheating to call Cam Lewis a starter? Until we get any substantial update regarding star nickelback Kyler Gordon, we don't think so. Lewis is listed as the starting nickelback on the Bears' first official depth chart, and he's probably firmly ahead of the other players in the competition at this point. However, that's not to say that he's already got the starting job locked up.

Fourth-round selection Malik Muhammad II is the most interesting candidate that could challenge for the starting job. While he's listed as Jaylon Johnson's backup on the perimeter, the coaching staff has made an effort to get him experience at nickelback amid the swath of injuries they've experienced in the secondary.

Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell (who is interestingly listed as a safety on the first depth chart) are also candidates to win the starting slot corner job with a strong performance in the preseason. While they have a lot of ground to make up, their prior experience playing in the slot under Dennis Allen last season could work in their favor.

Gervon Dexter Sr.

Gervon Dexter Sr.'s starting job wasn't expected to be in any danger after the NFL Draft. The biggest critique with their offseason among the masses was that they didn't make any splash additions to the defensive line. However, no one expected sixth-round selection Jordan van den Berg to already receive first-team reps in practice.

While Dexter is all but guaranteed to play a healthy amount of snaps on defense, his role is far from set in stone. Specifically, he will have to improve his get-off and ability to defend against the run if he wants to stay on the field on early downs. Jordan van den Berg is definitely the top candidate to eat into his playing time, but Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street can also make a strong case for themselves if they flash in the preseason.

Dexter is fighting for a new contract this season, and a decrease in usage wouldn't exactly look great on his free agency resume. He'll need to bring his A-game with the increased competition they added to the room this offseason.

Kalif Raymond

The Bears' WR3 job is a social construct. The position isn't even included on the official depth chart, as they opted to include Cole Kmet as a starter alongside Colston Loveland. However, someone will have the edge (even if it's a slight one) in the pecking order.

Right now, Kalif Raymond's leadership and experience will probably give him the edge on the third receiver job. However, head coach Ben Johnson already hinted that the targets will go to whoever earns them in the specific routes and concepts. It's safe to assume the preseason performances will factor into that equation.

In the end, third-round selection Zavion Thomas and Jahdae Walker will probably receive their fair share of opportunities regardless of how they perform in the preseason. However, they can definitely grab a bigger piece of the pie if they play well over the next month.

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