After a humbling benching and a grueling injury recovery, Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones leans on a newfound mental edge and offseason training to reclaim his starting spot in Chicago.
Braxton Jones wasn't aware of it at the time, but being benched last season helped the Chicago Bears' left tackle realize what he was missing in his game.
Towards the end of the 2024 season, Jones fractured his ankle, ending his year. Despite the injury, Jones started at left tackle for the first four games in 2025. Just 18 snaps into the Week 4 road game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones was benched and he didn't play another snap all season.
“There's a lot that goes into that, when it comes to that," Jones said during Wednesday's press conference. "First of all, I just don't think I was at my best with my injury and mentally it can be a lot. I'm grateful for that, to be able to look back and see that and realize that I was right there. I just needed to trust what I was in. And that's simply all it is. Going back, looking at it that I'm very grateful that it all happened the way I needed. Because it kind of punched me in the face a little bit too. It made me wake up a little bit. Like I’ve genuinely got to do a lot of things to get better. Especially with the injury I was coming back from. I'm blessed to have that situation and be able to look at it in a more positive light coming out of it.”
Jones has the maturity to look at that low moment in his career and not let it permanently scar him.
“I'll be up front, straight up," Jones said. "It's obviously a lot and it can go up and down. I will say everything I have gone through up until this point has happened for a reason just to get me where I'm at now and building that confidence again. So, yes, there’re ups and downs, it's life. That's what life is. Not getting too low, not getting too high in those moments. That's what I've constantly learned. With the regime we have now, Ben (Johnson), you just see it from top to down, everything that we're doing. You really can't live in those lows and highs. You’ve just got to keep on moving, keep on pushing, and that's what we're all trying to do. Obviously, it was up and down, but I'm so grateful for everything that's happened genuinely.”
Jones has moved on from his injuries -- the fractured ankle in 2024 and the knee injury he sustained in Week 7 last season. Unlike last year, Jones will enter the 2026 season healthy and ready to compete for a starting job.
The veteran left tackle has been working with former five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead in the offseason, and Jones credits those sessions for helping build his confidence in his leg.
There was nothing Jones could've done to earn a starting position during organized team activities, which Johnson has expressed plenty of times, but jobs will be won and lost in training camp.
And Jones understands what he must do to reclaim his starting position.
“I think a big thing for me last year was just second half production I'll say," Jones said. "I, for the most part, was pretty decent enough in the first half. I just think with the ankle and the injuries, I really didn't have much coming out in the second half. I think that's the biggest thing is just reps, getting as many reps as I can. Obviously, I’ve got to be better in certain areas. Pass protection, run game efficiency, all of that is going to come together. But I think the amount of reps I can get, turning the body, making sure everything's rolling and taking as many reps as I possibly can is going to be the biggest thing in setting me apart. Then everything will come after that.”
