Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones exited practice early on Thursday, departing with head trainer Andre Tucker.
Jones was visibly shaken after the issue cropped up during a 1-on-1 drill.
Now, the Bears can only wait with bated breath.
Bears LT Braxton Jones Exits Practice With Trainer
Braxton Jones Suffers Apparent Injury During Bears Training Camp Practice
Jones is a former fifth-round draft pick and starter for the Bears, but injuries and inconsistency opened the door for changes at the position.
He entered camp this season as the favorite to win the starting job in place of the injured Ozzy Trapilo or his fellow hopefuls, newcomer Jedrick Wills and incumbents Kiran Amegadjie and Theo Benedet.
Amegadjie stepped into the LT1 role w/ Jones’ departure during what head coach Ben Johnson framed beforehand as their longest practice to date in camp, expecting “some thump” to it.
The Bears have expressed confidence in all of their options. But the rep counts suggest Jones has built up the most equity. Moreover, Johnson expressed a desire to settle the position battle in the next week or so.
Any length of absence for Jones would throw a wrench in those plans, since the Bears would have to reevaluate their remaining options.
So far, that has only included in-house candidates. But it is fair to wonder if Johnson will lean into his past relationships and call up a Taylor Decker, whom he coached with the Detroit Lions.
Johnson shut down moving Darnell Wright to the left side ahead of practice on Thursday, and the Bears have rejected the idea of moving left guard Joe Thuney out there as they did in the 2025 NFC Divisional Playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams.
This is certainly a situation to monitor.
Early reports are that Jones avoided a serious injury, but the Bears could still take a cautious approach, given his recent injury history. His practice participation will be key, since teams are not required to provide detailed or daily injury reports before the preseason.
Bears Defenders Unable to Finish Practice
As if the uncertainty around Jones was not enough, the Bears also saw defensive end Montez Sweat and cornerback Dallis Flowers leave early with trainers. There are no silver linings to injuries, but Sweat’s situation did not appear to be as severe as Flowers’. Staff helped the latter off the field. Third-string NB1 Jaylon Jones also exited early.
The Bears are already down safeties Coby Bryant and Elijah Hicks, as well as nickelback Kyler Gordon.
It seemed as if the Bears’ injury luck was turning around with linebacker T.J. Edwards returning to practice this week. But the Bears are now dealing with some issues with starters at multiple key spots during the early going of training camp this year.
Leave a Reply