The Chicago Bears have an important battle for the starting left tackle job, which appeared to be a two-man race between veteran Braxton Jones and rookie Ozzy Trapilo. But former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet has emerged as a dark horse contender.
Benedet entered the competition following an injury to Kiran Amegadjie, and Benedet was part of the three-man rotation at left tackle in last Sunday’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins. Benedet had a solid outing as the third left tackle, which really caught offensive line coach Dan Roushar’s eye.
“There’s a lot of things to really like about Theo,” Roushar said. “He’s had probably as much improvement as any player we have in the group. With that, there’s a lot of things for him to improve on and he knows that, and we’ve got to work on it. He is working his tail off. He has put himself in a position to go compete for a job somewhere in this group.”
Following his outing against the Dolphins, Benedet rotated with Jones at left tackle with the first team during Wednesday’s practice. The Bears had Trapilo working exclusively on the right side with the second team to get him some looks there, which was the plan all along. But it’s certainly noteworthy that Benedet has found a way to insert himself into the competition.
“Every day he’s just continued to work and improve, and he grabs our attention with the things he does really well,” Roushar said. “We know that he’s not a finished product by any means, but the growth from spring to now has been incredible.”
The Bears appear to be no closer to determining their starting left tackle as we enter the second week of the preseason. And while Benedet feels like a long shot to win the job, it’s certainly notable he’s turning heads, which could help him secure a roster spot.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears OL coach Dan Roushar had high praise for Theo Benedet
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
