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Courtney Cronin
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears will debut a new left tackle against the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
Theo Benedet will replace Braxton Jones at left tackle, coach Ben Johnson announced on Saturday. It will be the second straight start for Benedet, the former undrafted free agent who is in his second season with Chicago.
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Benedet started at right tackle in place of Darnell Wright (elbow) against the Raiders before moving over to left tackle toward the end of the first half.
After the 25-24 win in Las Vegas, Johnson did not state whether Jones had been benched but rather that the midgame tackle switch was predicated on wanting to get rookie Ozzy Trapilo “some snaps.”
Trapilo took over at right tackle once Benedet moved to left tackle.
Jones logged 44 starts at left tackle since being drafted by Chicago in the fifth round in 2022. He was involved in a competition at left tackle throughout training camp that also featured Benedet, Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie.
Johnson waited until the opening week of the season to announce Jones as Chicago’s starting left tackle, but left the door open for the team to make a change during the season.
“I think we’re going to have a starter Week 1, and we’ll go from there,” Johnson said in August. “I said it a few weeks ago — we feel good about the guys we have in that room. Someone’s going to take the bull by the horns and is going to completely take over. But we’re not afraid to make a change if the performance isn’t where it needs to be.”