Bears Camp Battle Appears to Have No End in Sight After First Preseason Game

The Chicago Bears looked to answer many of their preseason questions when they battled the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. While starting quarterback Caleb Williams was absent from the opener several players looked to stake their claim to a starting job or a roster spot in a 24-24 tie.

Like many preseason games, Sunday’s draw was just a small data point Ben Johnson and his staff will use to construct the roster. But when it comes to one significant training camp battle, Sunday’s game may have proved that there may be no end in sight.

The Bears Are Running Out of Time to Choose a Left Tackle

One year after watching Williams get sacked 68 times, the Bears made overhauling their offensive line a priority this offseason. Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson are new additions that will look to solidify the interior of the group while 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright is locked in at right tackle. The lone question remaining is at left tackle where Ozzy Trapilo and Braxton Jones provided little clarity on who will start the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.

Jones started the game for the Bears, playing 24 snaps and allowing two pressures including a sack according to Pro Football Focus. Trapilo entered late in the first half and even had some playing time in the fourth quarter, playing 37 total snaps and allowing a pressure on 26 pass-blocking snaps. Neither performance was one that declared an obvious answer and Johnson had a similar view when he talked to reporters after the game.

“We’re not in a rush here,” Johnson said via The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Briggs. “We’re going to go as long as we need to go to feel like we’re making the best possible decision for our best five to be out there. There’s a lot of weight that goes into [Friday’s joint practice against the Dolphins], there’s a lot of weight that goes into Sunday’s game, there’s a lot of weight that goes into Buffalo next week. I don’t want any of those guys looking ahead right now. What’s important is the here and now.”

While Johnson is keeping the competition open, it may have gone longer than anticipated. Jones has been the starter on the blindside over the past three seasons but an ankle injury forced him to miss all offseason workouts. Trapilo was brought in as a second-round pick in April’s draft and the Boston College standout has made a compelling case to take over that job whether it be at the beginning of this season or when Jones’s contract expires at the end of the year.

As much as Johnson wants to claim that everything will be considered in totality, he had to have seen Jones allow a pressure to linebacker Grayson Murphy on Tyson Bagent’s touchdown pass in the second quarter. Third-string quarterback Case Keenum also offered a vote of confidence for Trapilo after playing with him for much of the second half.

“Sometimes, at the end of preseason games, there are guys who have been hurt or pulled, and guys are playing different positions,” Keenum said via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “But having Ozzy, I literally looked at him and was like, left side, it gave me a good sense. That’s a good feeling as a quarterback, when you have a left tackle you feel really good about.”

Briggs added that “the vibe from team leaders” in the spring suggested that the Bears would make a decision sooner rather than later to give the offensive line time to gel. But that may have not been possible due to Jones’s injury and another leg injury to fellow candidate Kiran Amegadjie. Perhaps Johnson wants to see all three in action before making a decision. But with two preseason games remaining and training camp coming to a close this week, Johnson and the Bears are running out of time.