LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) — The No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. was out of the league in 2025 and eager to find his next opportunity. He wanted to get back in the game that he loves.
Wills sat out 2025 while recovering from an osteotomy, a surgical procedure that realigned bones in his injured right leg. He spent that time back home with family in Dallas, preparing himself to return and hoping for what was next.
“I’ve been working my ass off to get healthy,” Wills said Thursday afternoon. “I got great confidence in what I can do."
So do the Bears, who gave Wills a one-year deal and the chance to compete for their starting job at left tackle.
The 26-year-old Wills previously played for the Browns from 2020-’24. He was benched midway through the 2024 season, bringing an end to his time in Cleveland. Then came the osteotomy for Wills, who had to focus on getting back to full health.
Wills will compete with Braxton Jones for the Bears’ starting spot at left tackle. The team re-signed Jones to a one-year deal after he too endured a challenging, injury-plagued 2025.
Jones, 26, spent much of 2025 recovering from ankle surgery. He returned for the start of training camp but struggled at times while working toward full health.
After making 44 starts for the Bears at left tackle, Jones was benched early last season. It seemed like that could lead to the end of his time in Chicago, but the Bears still have confidence that Jones can play at a high level when he's healthy.
Jones and Wills are in similar situations, as they're fighting to reclaim starting jobs while playing on one-year contracts.
"We want competition," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. "We want guys to rise to the level, and at some point when we get to September, someone’s going to take that job. I’m excited to see how that works out."
The possibility looms that the Bears could find a new starting left tackle in the NFL Draft. Chicago holds the No. 25 overall pick in the first round and a pair of second-round picks at No. 57 and No. 60 overall.
But free agency is an avenue to fill immediate needs, and the Bears had one at left tackle. In 2025, they started four players there – Jones, second-year pro Theo Benedet, rookie Ozzy Trapilo and then future Hall of Fame guard Joe Thuney in a season-ending loss to the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Jones was pushed out of his starting role by Benedet, who was later replaced by Trapilo, who suffered a serious knee injury in January that will likely cost him the entire 2026 campaign. The Bears have never considered Thuney to be a permanent option at left tackle, so that meant they were in the market to address the position again.
As was the case last year, the Bears' left tackle competition will begin in earnest when the pads come on for training camp. It will be a chance for Wills and Jones to showcase themselves once again.
"I’m coming in and just trying to prove what I can do,” Wills said. “And see where that takes me.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for TheScoreChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.