Chicago Bears closing in on naming starting left tackle for Week 1

The Chicago Bears are closing in on their decision at left tackle, according to one team insider.

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The Chicago Bears still haven't named who their starting left tackle will be when the 2025 NFL season kicks off on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings.

That might be about to change, however.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, the Bears are seem to be "close to calling" the left tackle battle in favor of veteran Braxton Jones.

"Braxton Jones got all the LT reps with the 1s today," Cronin shared on X. "Seems the Bears are close to calling that battle with Jones as the Week 1 starter (TBD how long that lasts), Theo Benedet as the backup LT, Ozzy Trapilo as the team's swing tackle."

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At this point, anyone other than Jones being named the starting left tackle would qualify as a surprise.

Benedet has been a fantastic training camp story and appears like quite the find by GM Ryan Poles and his scouting staff. But it would be borderline unfair to throw an inexperienced first-year player into the fire against one of the NFL's most aggressive defenses in a nationally televised primetime game.

Meanwhile, Trapilo's descent down the depth chart isn't great. He was given every chance to prove he could unseat Jones at left tackle, and, simply put, he failed. While he still offers great value as a swing tackle behind Darnell Wright and whoever the LT1 ends up being, the fact that a second-round pick is essentially a top backup is troubling.

Perhaps Trapilo ill re-emerge in the left tackle conversation as his rookie year marches on. For now, his role is not what Bears fans thought it would be.

That leaves Jones, the savvy veteran who will enter the 2025 season on an expiring contract. While there have been some concerning reps this preseason as he works his way back from a serious ankle injury, his experience should pay dividends against the Vikings in Week 1.

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