The potential for any Chicago Bears interest in Cam Robinson

For that reason, he hasn't named Braxton Jones starter despite continued play at left tackle.
GM Ryan Poles tried to put forth a more optimistic view.
"With Braxton coming back from (ankle) injury, you're like, 'All right, how close is he going to be to his normal self?' " Poles said. "You have some young players that are developing. You have a rookie moving over to a different position. So, there is a lot of projection built into that.
"But, I think as it came along, they all got better as we went. We're going to have a lot of different options at really both left (tackle) and right (tackle) in our backup-swings, and, really, the versatility in that whole back end five, those guys can play multiple positions, which I think we've, I don't know for sure, but we're up there in terms of how many different combinations we've rolled out there for the last three years."

The fact it's still not settled means they're both trying to keep Jones working hard right up to game week to continue strengthening his surgically repaired ankle, rather than letting up now that he's settling into the role without swapping out repetitions.

There is another option out there and it's trading for Houston tackle Cam Robinson, who came to the Vikings' rescue last year when Christian Darrisaw suffered a season-ending injury. The Texans have their long-term answer at tackle with Aireontae Ersery and Robinson is viewed as a spare part, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

To acquire him would cost a team about $3.7 million in cap cost plus whatever they offered in the trade.

Keeping him doesn't take a huge amount of cap space but it is when you're $4.9 million over the cap as a team right now, like the Texans are per Spotrac.com.
The Texans were said to be shopping Robinson by several reporters but at this point it doesn't look like a necessary move for the Bears.

Here's why:

1. Injuries

Robinson has been plagued by a lower left leg injury in camp and preseason and it allowed Ersery the opportunity to step forth as a second-rounder.

As a result, acquiring him might not be any better than using Jones while his ankle continues healing.

2. Quality

Robinson has been in the league since 2017. Not that Pro Football Focus grades are an end-all but his overall grade has never been as high in any of his seasons as the worst grade Jones has had in his three seasons. Sure, it's PFF grades but even if they're off, his are well below Jones. In fact, the Vikings had three tackles graded higher by PFF than Robinson was last year even though he wasn't terrible in replacing injured Darrisaw.

3. He could be cut anyway

The cap crisis facing the Texans is real. They're one of four teams currently sitting over the salary cap and they have until the start to the season to get their house in order. It makes sense that they'd cut a tackle who has a $5.5 million cap hit. If the Bears waited, it's possible to add him without a trade but they'd also need to be fortunate with waivers. Experienced tackles who are at least average will usually be at a premium, and get claimed immediately.

4. Theo

The Bears really did like the efforts of Theo Benedet. While he had very little exposure to top pass rushers, he did more than hold his own in preseason by PFF's grading. He's fine as the backup, especially when they spent all offseason and training camp also letting Ozzy Trapilo play at the position.

5. Line crunch

Bringing in Robinson would no doubt mean cutting another offensive lineman.

That player, most likely, would need to be Kiran Amegadjie, but the Bears releasing a third-round pick after he has played 56 preseason snaps and 123 regular season snaps in his career doesn't seem very likely.