Through three NFL seasons, left tackle Braxton Jones has started 40 games for the Chicago Bears. He’s one of only 25 players of the 118 selected in the 5th round or later in the 2022 NFL Draft who have played in at least 40 games, and one of only six players in the history of the Southern Utah Thunderbirds football program to be selected in the NFL Draft. By all accounts, his career has been a tremendous success.
But Jones, who was limited to only 12 games in 2024 due to a season-ending fibula fracture, now finds himself in a battle for the starting left tackle job that he’s unexpectedly held down each of the last three seasons. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo and 2024 3rd Round pick Kiran Amegadjie are getting every opportunity possible to unseat Jones from that starting spot.
As Jones works his way back offseason surgery and attempts to fend off both Trapilo and Amegadjie to retain his starting job, the fourth-year tackle has been able to reflect on his improbable NFL journey, and the struggles that came with returning to 100 percent health.
“I’ve always had a burning passion to just be better each and every day,” Jones said July 31, per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “When I was younger, my mom taught me if you’re going to do something, try to be the best at it. So I have always stuck to that, and it is days like that … when you’re sitting there with an injury like that and in bed all day or whatever it is, you don’t want to get up and do much. But it was just that mentality when I had to start going.”
Jones has been candid about how difficult the recovery was, but throughout the entire process, he’s continued to try to look at the setback as a learning experience.
“There were some days where I woke up and I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t feel like doing much today.’ But I continued to get up,” Jones said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I feel good, just to be out there with the guys, running and feeling myself again.”
Can Braxton Jones Hold Off Ozzy Trapilo, Kiran Amegadjie?
The competition for the Chicago Bears’ starting left tackle spot is one of the more up-in-the-air position battles around the NFL. It will also be one of the most consequential. With Caleb Williams entering his second season and Ben Johnson arriving and immediately reshaping the Bears offense, keeping Caleb’s blindside protected will be a vital piece of him having a bounce back season after a so-so rookie campaign.
After Thursday’s practice, Johnson detailed what he was looking for from each of the three options at left tackle.
“To me it’s consistency,” Johnson said this week, per Alyssa Barbieri of Bears Wire. “Who’s making the least number of mental errors. I think I said in the springtime, tackles, to me, have to be able to pass protect one-on-one on a regular basis and win those one-on-one matchups. Guys that are out there that we’re not having to be conscious of with the play call to give them help all the time, that would be ideal.”
Jones, Trapilo and Amegadjie Working Together
Despite the fact that Jones, Trapilo and Amegadjie are all getting a fair shake to earn the win in this high-stakes competition, it’s not lost on any of them that they’ll all be wearing the same uniform on Sundays. To a man, all three guys have expressed the importance of working together.
Trapilo, the rookie in the room, noted that Jones and Amegadjie have been “the first ones to help anytime you have a question about technique.” Amegadjie explained that despite the competition, “we want to see the best thing for the team.”
And then there’s Braxton Jones, the elder statesman in the group, who hasn’t shied away from his responsibility to mentor his younger teammates, or the competition he’s currently locked in in order to keep his job from them.
“I’ve just got to put my hat on that and continue working,” Jones said. “I can’t be too jumping the gun. I have to stay where I’m at.”
