2-Time Champion, Former $41 Million LT Floated as Replacement for Bears’ Jones

The Chicago Bears appear to have made their bed at left tackle by passing up on the opportunity to draft an elite prospect to immediately replace starter Braxton Jones, though the team still has a quality free agent option should it decide to change direction.

General manager Ryan Poles did address the position in the third round late last month, selecting Kiran Amegadjie out of Yale with the No. 75 overall pick. Depending on Amegadjie’s development, however, that call could end up proving to be only a half-measure at one of the game’s most important positions — particularly when one considers No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams is the quarterback the starting LT will be tasked with protecting.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN spoke with Robert Mays of The Athletic on the April 30 edition of “The Bill Barnwell Show,” during which the two discussed the state of the Bears’ left tackle position and how the team approached it during the recent NFL draft. Over the course of that conversation, Barnwell floated the notion of Chicago pursuing long-time veteran offensive lineman Donovan Smith, most recently of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Smith won a Super Bowl ring in Kansas City last season after playing eight years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he also won a championship following the 2020 campaign.

Bears Making Multiyear Bet on Combination of Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie at Left Tackle