Joe Thuney took the high road Sunday afternoon, not revealing an ounce of worry about the left tackle rotation that has been unfolding around him for the past three weeks at Chicago Bears training camp.
At 33 years old and entering his 11th season, Thuney understands the unpredictable nature of the NFL and so, true to his consistent head-down, don’t-worry, do-my-part approach, he did what he has been trained to do.
Kept his head down. Didn’t worry. Did his part.
“Regardless of who’s in there,” Thuney said, “I try to communicate as well as I can. I try to get the run fits as consistent as I can so it feels the same for everybody. Then it’s just trying to be on the same page with what each play (calls for) and with each player there next to me.”
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With a chuckle, he even went so far as to say that he hasn’t always noticed the constant change at left tackle.
Two mornings later, coach Ben Johnson spoke on behalf of the five-time All-Pro and four-time Super Bowl champion.
“I think Joe would like some clarity on who he can build a rapport with,” Johnson said Tuesday. “It’s been a little bit of a revolving door. He’s a pro’s pro and he’s willing to do everything. But you want five guys playing as one.”
Right now, the Bears may suddenly have five guys competing for the same job — with the season opener closing in and no one doing enough to seize the starting role.
What started as a three-man left tackle battle when camp began — Braxton Jones vs. Kiran Amegadjie vs. Jedrick Wills — added a fourth competitor Tuesday. Theo Benedet, a starter for eight games last season, including seven at left tackle, shared time with Jones at the position with the first-unit offense Tuesday, a notable development after Benedet had been cemented at right tackle during practices over the previous three weeks.
Even Ozzy Trapilo, activated from the physically unable to perform list over the weekend, may eventually get his chance to reclaim the role he held for six regular-season games and one playoff contest late last season.
Of course, Trapilo, who suffered a patellar tendon tear in his left knee in January, has several more hurdles to clear before he’s ready for full-speed, full-contact, full-competition football.
“He’s on his own timetable right now,” Johnson said. “It’s a race to see how quickly we can rebuild his confidence. So it’s going to look different for him than it is anybody else in terms of how we continue to integrate him.”
Jedrick Wills, left, celebrating with running back Brittain Brown, is one of the contenders at left tackle, but he also spent some time at right tackle on Tuesday. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
Dizzy yet? What if we also told you Amegadjie and Wills spent big chunks of Tuesday’s practice working at right tackle? And that Amegadjie, at the end of a running play during a red zone period, came up hobbling with an apparent right leg injury that prompted him to slam his helmet to the grass before leaving practice for the rest of the afternoon?
Another day, another twist.
And yes, the elevated urgency Johnson and his coaching staff must be feeling to solidify the offensive line is understandable with Week 1 now less than three weeks away.
“We’ll go as long as we need to to figure out who those five are,” Johnson said. “But at the same time, the sooner we can make that decision, the sooner they can jell as a unit.”
This is another critical week for the Bears offensive line. A short practice is on tap Wednesday at Halas Hall before the team departs for a three-day business trip to Cincinnati. That trek will include a joint practice Thursday followed by an exhibition game Saturday evening.
And as offensive coordinator Press Taylor stressed, all the offensive tackles will be thrust into situations that will test their mettle and reliability.
“These joint practices will be huge for that,” Taylor said. “We’ll go into it at times intentionally not helping those guys on the left side. That’s different from a game week where if you face a dynamic pass rusher on one side, you may provide (help) presence with a tight end.
“In these situations, in these controlled environments where your quarterback has the (colored) jersey on, it’s a little bit more of an opportunity to say, ‘All right, let’s go see you one-on-one with a couple different pass rushers you haven’t seen.’”
At some point, the Bears hope one of their offensive tackles will make their decision much easier.
Said offensive line coach Dan Roushar: “We’ve seen progress in every one of them. They’re doing things better than they were a year ago. And yet I would say right now there’s too many inconsistencies. You see moments where you really like what the player did. And then at the end of the day, there are too many things that just aren’t being done well enough.”
To be direct, Jones still seems to have the inside track to the Week 1 job if he can finish this preseason with momentum, returning strong from a knee issue that flared up Aug. 6 and kept him out of team drills for the next four practices.
Jones’ medical history is also worth filing away with injured reserve stops in each of the past three seasons — a neck injury in 2023, a broken ankle in 2024 and a knee injury last season.
Jones’ resilience has been strengthened with each of those setbacks. But his durability is something that needs continued improvement. His consistency must get better, too, both with pass blocking reliability and with his effectiveness in the Bears’ tight-zone and gap-scheme running plays.
“I wish there was a little more clarity at this point,” Johnson said Tuesday, “but there’s not.”
That’s been a constant at left tackle since Johnson’s arrival. Last season, the Bears used three regular-season starters before Thuney, an All-Pro guard, became the emergency starter in the season-ending divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Naturally, he’ll do whatever’s asked. But the Bears will be much better off if they can solidify Plans A, B and C before the season begins.
