Bears Keep Looking For A Left Tackle To Fill Charles Leno’s Cleats
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 08: Theo Benedet #79 of the Chicago Bears warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings at Solider Field on September 8, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois . (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images) Getty Images How much longer can the Bears survive with bargain-basement left tackles? This is the position protecting a right-handed quarterback’s back. It was always considered vital to the success of an offensive line by football insiders but sprang into prominence among fans after the release of the book and movie based on Michael Oher, “The Blind Side.” There are 27 NFL tackles earning at least $17.5 million this season, and most of them line up on the left side. The Bears haven’t paid an eight-figure salary to a tackle since Charles Leno Jr. had a $10.3 million cap hit in 2020, his last guaranteed season in a four-year, $37 million deal. Leno protected Jay Cutler, Mitchell Trubisky and their backups from 2014 through ’20. When Leno left as a free agent, the Bears put big hopes into second-round draft pick Teven Jenkins while investing $1.75 million in 39-year-old veteran Jason Peters as a stop-gap replacement. They’ve been making financially driven compromises on left tackles ever since, in part because of a decision in the 2022 draft that offset Jenkins’ move to guard and frequent absences due to injuries. Enter Braxton Jones, who has started 44 games since General Manager Ryan Poles — a former offensive lineman himself — selected him in the fifth round from tiny Southern Utah University. Jones was benched in the second quarter of the Week 4 victory over Las Vegas in favor of Theo Benedet, who they signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024. Jones played three seasons under the terms of his four-year,…
