The Chicago Bears’ finances remain a polarizing topic amid their approach to free agency and the trade market. But the Bears still have apparent roster needs to address this offseason, including left tackle, where the options could (and, perhaps, should) include Darnell Wright.
Of course, Wright filling that void would mean finding a right tackle, but the Bears may have that covered, too.
It is a subject Bears general manager Ryan Poles has discussed before.
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The decision on who plays where will always come down to the coaching staff. Still, Poles was candid about the Bears’ view of Wright’s ability to play on the left side. It would be a departure from his role in the NFL, but also a return to his college roots.
“I think that’s a conversation,” Poles told reporters in April 2025 when asked if Wright was an option at left tackle. “We’ll see how everything goes. He clearly has the ability to play left and right. We saw that in college. That was part of the value in taking Darnell. So, if he had to play left, I think he can play left. And, obviously, I think we’re all excited about his stuff to go right.”
Wright, who turns 25 in August and was a Second Team All-Pro in 2025, played primarily on the right side during his collegiate career, too.
However, he logged over 900 snaps at left tackle during the 2021 season. He moved back, but that experience could pay tremendous dividends for the Bears.
The Bears ultimately settled on the trio of veteran and incumbent starter Braxton Jones, second-year former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet, and rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo last offseason.
Jones lost his job to Benedet amid another injury-marred season. Benedet ultimately lost the starting job to Trapilo.
Trapilo ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoffs and will miss most, if not all, of 2026.
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The Bears do not want to move starting left guard Joe Thuney over to left tackle. They did in the Divisional Playoffs, but that was a one-off. They have already turned away from Jones. However, he was likely never fully healthy last season after missing time before and during the campaign.
Benedet’s stint at LT showed he might be better served on the right side. That could make Benedet Wright’s replacement if the Bears shift their young rising star.
Benedet is also the Bears’ best option as a swing tackle, though.
This year’s offseason program could start similarly to how last year’s would have if Jones were healthy: with him beginning as LT1, but competing against Benedet and, potentially, a rookie draft pick.
However, in Year 2 under Ben Johnson, Wright may be the best-equipped to take over the critical duties of protecting Caleb Williams’ blindside next season.
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It would not be unheard of for a team’s starting right tackle to make the switch, either. Among the most recent examples are Los Angeles Chargers right tackle Joe Alt, who moved over to cover for an injured Rashawn Slater, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tristan Wirfs.
Even Johnson’s former team, the Detroit Lions, appears set to move Penei Sewell, a player to whom Wright has been compared favorably in the past, after cutting ties with Taylor Decker.
If the Bears are set on focusing their resources elsewhere on the roster, Wright makes for an intriguing potential reason why, with plenty of offseason left to go.
