Chicago Bears' feel-good success story suddenly in the crosshairs

The Chicago Bears had one major mission heading into the NFL offseason: repair their offensive line to keep Caleb Williams standing in 2025.

The Bears definitely made a concerted effort to fix the trenches, adding veteran pieces like Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman while also drafing a couple of linemen.

But all of Chicago's moves have created a rather uncomfortable situation for one feel-good story in particular: left tackle Braxton Jones.

A former fifth-round pick, Jones immediately established himself as a starter for the Bears, playing in all 17 games during his rookie campaign. However, the last couple of years, injuries have inhibited Jones, limiting him to a grand total of 23 games in 2023 and 2024.

As a result, Jones' job may be on the line heading into training camp, especially with second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo pushing him.

Aaron Leming of Windy City Gridiron isn't sure if things will end well for Jones, especially with the Bears spending so much money along the offensive line this offseason.

"Call it a hunch, but it would be a surprise if Trapilo didn’t receive every opportunity to win the Week 1 starting job at left tackle," Leming wrote. "Despite the talk of potentially moving Wright to left tackle, that’s a scenario that would require two, maybe three plans to go horribly wrong. At worst, Jones is their starting left tackle to open the season. Realistically, he’s likely to produce a more balanced season than Trapilo or Amegadjie. Even so, this is the type of decision that requires a long-term outlook, which is why it’s fair to expect Trapilo to have multiple opportunities to win the starting job from the outset."

Essentially, Chicago may have to think of the situation from a financial perspective, especially with Jones entering the final year of his contract. Trapilo would obviously represent the cheaper option for now, and starting him over Jones would be one way of phasing the latter tackle out of the equation.

Jones also could represent a potential trade candidate between now and the deadline in November. Depending on how things unfold, of course.