(670 The Score) When the Bears send their starting offense out to the field during the offseason program this spring, incumbent left tackle Braxton Jones will be sidelined.
Jones continues to recover from surgery to repair a left ankle fracture that he suffered last December. The Bears believe he'll be ready to join them on the field during training camp, though he isn't expected to practice before then.
New Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar believes in Jones, but he isn’t quite ready to call him the starter at left tackle just yet.
“Very determined person,” Roushar said. “You love all those traits about him. I do. I think we all have the vision that if he were healthy, he would be competing as our starting left tackle. For all of our guys right now, nobody is set in stone. There's competition across the board in this entire building, for all of us. I think that in his case not being able to right now, immediately go out there and begin work as we start, self-admittedly, it's a setback for him.
“He has to stay sharp mentally. He's got to learn our language. He's got to learn our playbook, which he will do, and then let's assume that whenever he's given that green light, is full go, then I expect him to return to where he was, and then our jobs are to build on what he's done."
A fifth-round pick of the Bears in 2022, Jones started all 17 games as a rookie. But he has missed 11 games over the last two seasons due to multiple injuries, including the season-ending ankle fracture last December.
The Bears hired Roushar as their new offensive line coach in February. He replaced Chris Morgan, who wasn't retained by new head coach Ben Johnson.