Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones suffered a brutal ankle injury at the end of the 2024 NFL season, one that required surgery to repair and forced him out of the team's final two games.
Now, more than three months removed from his injury, Jones still faces a long road to recovery.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson met with reporters Tuesday from the 2025 NFL Owners Meeting and suggested Jones will likely be a limited participant at the start of training camp in July.
"I think he's right on track," Johnson said. "Will that mean he's limited in training camp? I would say probably at this point, but I think the progress is right where it needs to be right now."
Right where it needs to be remains a long way away from being ready to protect Caleb Williams' blindside, which only increases the urgency to make sure there's another left tackle on the roster who can, at worst, challenge Jones to be the starter, at best, beat him out for the job.
That's where the 2025 NFL Draft comes in. Owning the 10th pick in the first round, general manager Ryan Poles could be staring at both Will Campbell (LSU) and Armand Membou (Missouri) as first-round options. Both prospects have more natural ability than Jones, but with Membou playing exclusively at right tackle during his college career and Campbell having questions about his short arms, neither prospect is considered a can't-miss.
Second-year player Kiran Amegadjie is expected to take a step forward in his development in 2025 and could be a solid Plan B in the event Jones can't make a full recovery in time for September. But Amegadhjie looked overwhelmed in his limited exposure as a rookie, something Johnson said he isn't concerned about.
"I liked Kiran a lot coming out last year. He was a guy we had earmarked as a potential developmental prospect,"Johnson said. "He had a lot of traits to work with. ... We're not discouraged at all by what he put on tape. He got put into some tough situations (in '24)."
Despite Johnson's praise for the former Yale product, the left tackle gig is Jones' to lose, assuming a first-round investment in the position isn't made.
Johnson seems confident Braxton Jones is capable of handling the job, as long as he's healthy.
"Listen, the No. 1 thing in my opinion that tackles need to do is pass protect," Johnson said. "So I think he has the feet to get that done. We're going to challenge him to maybe gain a little more weight so that he can anchor a little bit better in pass pro. But everything I've seen so far has shown a phenomenal athlete out there on the edge that we feel like we can work with."
