2 Bears first-stringers in danger of losing starting jobs ahead of 2026 NFL season

August 5, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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The Chicago Bears are about to start Year 2 of the Ben Johnson regime. The first year was a rousing success as the Bears developed one of the most exciting offenses in the league because second-year quarterback Caleb Williams became one of the most explosive performers in the league and demonstrated the ability to lead the team at the most crucial moments.

This was largely the result of his collaboration with Johnson, perhaps the most intense head coach in the NFL. Johnson is a demanding boss and he appeared to wake up Williams after a very sleepy rookie year. Johnson’s attack is dependent on a quarterback who has all the physical skills — and Williams most defintely has them — and also has the know-how, preparation and the ability to avoid mistakes.

Johnson has laid out the ground work for success for the entire team. His most obvious lessons were applied to Williams, but it’s clear that he has high standards for every position.

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This means that the Bears will have to pick up where they left off at the end of the season. That means Williams, running back D’Andre Swift, wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden as well as tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet all have to perform better and more efficiently than they did when the Bears won the division and a Wild Card playoff game last year.

Those skill-position players all appear to be fairly safe as Johnson believes in them and is giving them another opportunity to improve. That holds, as long as there are no let-downs, screw-ups or perceived deficiencies. Johnson does not owe anyone in the starting lineup their position. They have to earn those jobs through their performance and meeting expectations.

At least two other battles appear to be much closer.

Left tackle Braxton Jones is fighting to hold on to his position

One of the big stories early in training camp was the Bears decision to reward right tackle Darnell Wright with a new contract extension that gives him a secure job and a huge raise. The Bears gave Wright a four-year, $116 million deal and that includes $93 million in guaranteed money, setting an NFL record for offensive linemen.

That contract also sends a message to left tackle Braxton Jones, who will earn $2 million this season and does not have a contract past this season. His opposite number’s new deal has to be a motivating factor for Jones. Wright has hit the jackpot playing right tackle, while the left tackle is receiving a relative pittance by NFL standards.

Left tackle is largely considered the more important and tougher position than right tackle, but the Bears are rewarding their right tackle with a record-setting contract.

Jones has started at left tackle for four season openers, but he is facing intense competition from Theo Benedet, Jedrick Wills and Kiran Amegadjie. Jones appears to have more confidence than he has in the past and could hold off Benedet and the others, but he faces an intense battle as camp moves along.

Center Garrett Bradbury has significant experience

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The Bears know center Garrett Bradbury very well as he prepares for his first season with the team. Bradbury played six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before he moved on to the New England Patriots last season. He signed a one-year, $4.7 million deal in the offseason with the Bears. It’s clear that he has plenty of know-how regarding what his responsibilities are and he also knows the NFC North Division quite well.

Bradbury was originally drafted by the Vikings with their first-round pick in 2019. The idea was that he was an extremely gifted athlete for the position, and that he would have to show enough strength and battle-level to handle the heavy-duty work of blocking on the interior.

That was an issue throughout his tenure with the Vikings. He moved extremely well and he had the understanding of how defenses would attempt to attack the Minnesota interior. However, Bradbury has never displayed the ability to counter the strength and power of the more aggressive defenders he faced with the Vikings.

Bradbury has drawn praise from Johnson

Johnson has gone out of his way to praise Bradbury in the early phase of training camp. “He is extremely impressive,” Johnson said. “What stands out the most is he has an elite level of communication. We are cooking right now with him out there.”

While Bradbury may be in a good position, he still has to hold off rookie Logan Jones. Both Bradbury and Jones are nearly the same size at 6-3 and 300 pounds, but Jones would have to show he can handle the more powerful interior defensive linemen — the kind that have given Bradbury issues throughout his career.

Despite the compliments that Johnson has sent Bradbury’s way, he has never been able to handle the more physical defensive linemen. That is unlikely to change just because he is wearing navy blue of the Bears instead of Vikings purple.

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