The competition to start at left tackle in Week 1 for the Chicago Bears is still wide open.
Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle discussed the state of the battle featuring incumbent three-year starter Braxton Jones and Ozzy Trapilo atop the card, with Theo Benedet and Kiran Amegadjie hanging in the weeds. I thought these comments from the new Bears OC stood out the most:
Doyle saying the tackles are “starting to separate themselves from each other” makes it seem like It sounds like it will be a battle between Braxton Jones and Ozzy Trapilo. With that being said, Doyle also cautioned that the two are “still very much in a battle” to win the starting job. Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) notes that Jones was in on 32 percent of the team’s offensive snaps on Sunday, while Trapilo was in on 50 percent of the total snaps after coming in after the starter. Take that for what it’s worth. Even as Jones and Trapilo separate themselves from the pack, I didn’t think either player made a grand statement with their play on Sunday. So it felt revealing that Doyle said there is still work to be done for both contestants in the battle to start at left tackle. “I would say that both of them, there’s a lot of room for improvement. … Really, it’s about who’s willing to make an improvement on that performance, and keep accelerating to see who’s going to be the guy there Week 1.” In the end, it will come down to the tape, as it should: “The tape doesn’t lie. It will become clearer and clearer as time goes on that one of those guys is going to separate themselves – in the eyes of the decision makers, of Ben (Johnson), of our front office, of the O-line coaches, of myself. But incomplete evaluation thus far. We still have a lot of football left to play.” (h/t Zack Pearson)For more from Bears Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle, you can watch the video:
Chicago Bears left tackle position is too close to call right now
I’m so glad the Bears have two more preseason games and nearly four weeks of practice left before they take the field for the regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. Because while it would have been ideal for Chicago’s football team to have a starting left tackle lined up by now, it is clear that a decision on that front is nowhere close to being made. Frankly, I’m OK with that because there is no need to rush such an important decision. Let the play of Ozzy Trapilo and Braxton Jones dictate who should get the first-team reps when the games matter most.
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However, that the Bears do not have a starting left tackle at this point in the summer irks me. It feels as if this team has been searching for a lockdown blindside protector for years. And while Charles Leno Jr. and Braxton Jones have performed admirably in their time as multi-year fixtures at the starting left tackle position in recent years, it is easy to reach a point where “good” isn’t enough and “better” is desired. We are three years into the Jones experience, and I believe the rubber is meeting the road in that regard. Hence, it makes sense that the team is sending a second-round pick to do battle with the incumbent starter.
The best-case scenario is that either Braxton Jones or Ozzy Trapilo stands out, stakes a claim to the starting job, and doesn’t let go. If it happens to be Trapilo, it opens up some possibilities for the Bears. It could allow the front office to trade Jones for future draft capital. Or the coaching staff could install Jones as a swing tackle. Having quality depth with ample NFL starting experience never hurt anyone. And if it is Jones, then the Bears can use the time to help develop Trapilo as a long-term option.
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In the end, the Bears are in an awkward place. I hesitate to say that it is a good thing that they don’t have a starting left tackle installed right now. But that the team has two worthwhile options battling for a starting role is the type of thing we have been wanting to see from this team for a while. So, let the best player go out, win a job, keep it, and provide some stability in the quest to protect quarterback Caleb Williams.
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