Bears acquire former Pro Bowl guard from Rams

Jonah Jackson played only one season with the Rams, and his time in Los Angeles is set to come to an end. A trade agreement is in place, which will see the veteran offensive lineman join the Bears.

Chicago is set to send Los Angeles a 2025 sixth-round pick in exchange for Jackson, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reports. This deal will allow for a reunion between Jackson and Bears head coach Ben Johnson. The pair previously worked together in Detroit.

Upon arrival for Jackson, expectations were high when he inked a three-year, $51M free agent deal last spring. The former Pro Bowler was a key figure in the team’s efforts to shore up the interior of its offensive line. After seeing time at guard and center (while also dealing with a shoulder injury), though, Jackson was benched midway through the campaign. To no surprise, he was recently granted permission to seek a trade.

Jackson has a 2025 cap hit of $17.5M for 2025, a figure which hindered his market and helps explain the limited return in the trade (which can become official as early as next week when the new league year begins). The Bears will take on the remainder of his compensation, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports. With no financial adjustments taking place, Jackson will be owed a $9M base salary next season; he is also due an $8.5M roster bonus next week.

The Bears’ offensive line has faced question marks at every spot other than right tackle this offseason. The interior of the unit in particular has often been named as the subject of interest from Chicago. Prior to the news of this deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote the Bears were expected to make at least one addition along the interior of the O-line during free agency. It will be interesting to see if that will still be the case in the wake of this Jackson addition.

Chicago entered Tuesday with roughly $79M in cap space, so there will still be resources to make a notable splash on the open market. The Bears could, of course, also look to retain one or more of pending free agents Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor as part of their plans up front. In any case, Jackson will be tasked with occupying a first-team role on his new team. The 28-year-old has experience at center, but for much of his career he has operated at left guard.

Jackson has started all 57 of his career games, and on two occasions he has surpassed 1,000 snaps in a season. If the Ohio State product can remain available during the year and provide consistent play wherever he winds up playing, he will prove to be an effective addition for the Bears.