Tag: Braxton Jones

Recapping a wacky Wednesday for the Bears at Halas Hall

Here’s everything that happened with the Bears on a crazy Wednesday at Halas Hall.

It was quite an eventful day for the Chicago Bears at Halas Hall on Wednesday, where a season’s worth of headlines seemed to cram itself into one week.

Whether it was roster moves, a surprise resignation or Justin Fields making headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Bears were the focus of the NFL world on Wednesday. It was like watching a dumpster fire — you simply couldn’t look away, waiting for the next thing to happen.

In case you missed the action, here’s a breakdown of everything that went down at Halas Hall on an eventful Wednesday:

Bear Necessities: What the heck happened at Halas Hall on Wednesday?

It was an eventful day for the Bears at Halas Hall yesterday. We recap Wednesday’s headlines.

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What’s the latest with the Chicago Bears?

It was quite an eventful day at Halas Hall on Wednesday, which featured some big news and noteworthy moves. Alan Williams resigned as Bears defensive coordinator, Justin Fields took a jab at the coaches, left tackle Braxton Jones landed on injured reserve and the team released Nathan Peterman. All on Ryan Poles’ birthday, mind you.

Here’s a look at the most recent and relevant Bears stories for the morning of Sept. 21.

Bears LT Braxton Jones headed to IR with neck injury

Bears LT Braxton Jones (neck) will miss at least the next four games.

The Chicago Bears suffered another blow along the offensive line.

The Bears are placing starting left tackle Braxton Jones on injured reserve with a neck injury, head coach Matt Eberflus announced during his Wednesday press conference.

Jones will miss a minimum of four games, including matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings. He’ll be eligible to return in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

As for whether it could be a season-ending injury, Eberflus said: “We’ll see where it is.”

It’s another brutal blow for a Chicago offensive line already without starting left guard Teven Jenkins, who was placed on IR at the start of the 2023 season.

With Jones now sidelined, the expectation is it’ll be former starter Larry Borom getting the nod at left tackle, as he’s listed as Jones’ primary backup.

The good news is starting right guard Nate Davis, who missed the Week 2 game due to a death in the family, is back at Halas Hall.

Bears notebook: What we learned from Day 12 of training camp

The Bears had a long and physical practice on Wednesday. Our Brendan Sugrue was in attendance and shared his observations from Halas Hall.

The Chicago Bears preseason opener will be here before we know it and Wednesday’s practice served as a true tune-up for the game. The pads were back on and the Bears held their second-to-last public camp practice up at Halas Hall and it was a long one.

For just over two hours and 15 minutes, the Bears engaged in a physical practice packed with plenty of 11-on-11 drills. There was some good, some bad, and some concerning as the Bears lost a couple of key players to injuries.

For the second consecutive day, I was able to take in practice from the stands and here is what I observed and learned throughout the session.

Bears notebook: What we learned from Day 11 of training camp

Our Brendan Sugrue took in Bears training camp practice on Tuesday. Here is what he observed at Halas Hall.

It’s officially game week for the Chicago Bears! The team is gearing up for their first preseason contest of the year on Saturday and returned to the practice field at Halas Hall following an off day.

The Bears ditched the pads for this practice, only running drills in shells, but it was still a competitive session that provided valuable information leading into the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans. It was also the debut for new edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who sported his No. 91 jersey.

I was able to take in practice on Tuesday and here is what I observed during the nearly two hour practice.

Winners and losers following first week of Bears training camp

After seven days of Bears training camp practices, here are our winners and losers up to this point.

Seven training camp practices have come and gone for the Chicago Bears up at Halas Hall and things are starting to fall in place at certain positions. There’s been some good, some bad, and even a little ugly at certain points depending on your perspective. But it’s all with a goal to grow as a team and prepare for the 2023 regular season that lies ahead.

Over the course of those seven practices, specific players have risen to the top and shined at crucial moments. Others, however, haven’t had the camp many envisioned they would up to this point.

It’s still early, but it’s clear some are in better spots than others. Here are the winners and losers of the first week of Bears training camp

30 Most Important Bears of 2023: No. 3 Braxton Jones

Our No. 3 Most Important Bear of 2023 is Braxton Jones, who surprised everyone as a rookie but now needs to show he’s a franchise tackle.

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.

Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.

At No. 3 is offensive tackle Braxton Jones, a pleasant surprise from 2022 who has big expectations going into this season.

10 Bears with the most to prove in 2023

There are several Bears players with something to prove this season.

The Chicago Bears are coming off a 3-14 season that culminated in a 10-game losing streak, but there’s plenty of optimism about the direction of the team following an impactful 2023 offseason.

There are plenty of players with something to prove this season, whether it’s veterans in a contract year or players looking to prove they can be the long-term answer. There’s a lot on the line for these guys, and it starts in training camp.

Let’s take a look at 10 Bears players with the most to prove in 2023.

Bears 2023 training camp preview: Offensive line

Our next Bears position preview is the offensive line, a group that will look very different than it did in 2022.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, where we’re breaking down every player by position and examining the biggest question facing the group.

Rounding out the offensive side of the ball is the offensive line, a group that only has one projected starter playing the same position they played in 2022. Braxton Jones is back at left tackle but the rest of the line has done more shuffling than the 1985 Bears.

Teven Jenkins and Cody Whitehair were both prominent starters in 2022 who are now playing new positions, while newcomers Nate Davis and Darnell Wright were added to anchor the right side of the line. Meanwhile, players like Lucas Patrick and Larry Borom are now backups after entering last year’s camp as starters.

Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ offensive line heading into training camp.

Bears LT Braxton Jones on what he can learn from rookie RT Darnell Wright

Braxton Jones has stepped into a mentor role with Darnell Wright, but he also revealed there’s plenty to learn from the Bears’ top rookie.

The Bears landed arguably the best pass blocking offensive tackle in the NFL draft with Darnell Wright, who’s expected to start immediately at right tackle for Chicago’s new-look offensive line.

Wright will experience some growing pains as a rookie, which is something his teammate Braxton Jones understands well. After all, Jones played immediately as a rookie, starting every snap at left tackle for Chicago in 2022. So Jones had some advice for Wright this offseason.

“Him being the No. 10 overall pick, he’s been great,” Jones said, via Heavy.com. “The biggest thing for me is just trying to tell him to relax a little bit and when things get tough, or overwhelming in practice, sometimes, just relax. It’s going to come.”

While Jones is stepping into a mentor role with Wright, he also said there’s plenty he can learn from his rookie teammate, especially when it comes to his pass blocking prowess.

“Darnell was a great pass-blocker at Tennessee, and they would really sling the ball around,” Jones said. “So, I’ve definitely seen him, and taken some of his techniques away and tried to put it in my game a little bit, too. Obviously, he’s a premier 10th overall pick, so he’s got some tricks and tools that I can take from his game.”

The Bears offensive line struggled in pass protection last season, which is why things were reworked. Chicago added Wright and veteran Nate Davis this offseason, as well as moving players to different positions. In fact, Jones is the only starter to occupy the same spot last season with the Bears.

Protecting quarterback Justin Fields will be a top priority in 2023, after he was sacked a league-high 55 times last season in 15 games. Jones and Wright will play an integral role in keeping Fields upright to help him take the next step in his development.

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