Crucial Chicago Bears position battle sees another contender emerge

When the Chicago Bears opened training camp, the team began a three-headed competition for the starting left tackle job. But now, it appears as if another name could be creeping into the race.

On Wednesday, former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet saw reps with the first-team offense, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo, who is battling with Braxton Jones for the left tackle job, was working at second-string right tackle.

The fact Benedet saw first team reps doesn’t mean he is immediately in line with Trapilo and Jones. However, he certainly caught the eye of offensive line coach Dan Roushar.

“There’s a lot of things to really like about Theo,” Roushar said. “He’s had probably as much improvement as any player we have in the group. With that, there’s a lot of things for him to improve on and he knows that and we’ve got to work on it. He is working his tail off. He has put himself in a position to go compete for a job somewhere in this group.”

What Chicago Bears have in Theo Benedet 

Benedet’s first-team reps may have just been a flash in the plan. If the Bears are planning for Trapilo to operate as a swing tackle, it would make sense to get him some reps on the right side as well. But regardless of where Trapilo is playing, Chicago clearly thinks Benedet has something to offer the offensive line.

“It stands to reason the coaching staff wants Trapilo to train on both sides if he’s going to be the swing tackle,” Biggs wrote. “He has focused almost exclusively at left tackle since arriving. Roushar said as the line gets healthier — Amegadjie was on the field for the last two practices after missing more than a week with a leg injury — the Bears will have the flexibility to mix and match.

After going undrafted in 2024, Benedet signed with the Bears and spent the year on the practice squad. Because of that, it’s hard to truly gauge how ready he would be for NFL competition. At the very least, he at least understands how Chicago operates, although there is a new coaching staff in place. The team brought him back for a reason.

As the regular season draws closer, the Bears will want to have their starting offensive line in place. By then, it’ll be evident if Benedet’s first-team playing time is legit. But that would be one of the bigger shocks to come out of Chicago recently, as it seems likely Jones or Trapilo will be manning Caleb Williams’ blindside come Week 1.