The Chicago Bears’ ongoing battle for the starting left tackle carried over into their preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, which didn’t provide a significant update.
With Braxton Jones still sidelined with a knee injury, Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills Jr. rotated at left tackle in Chicago’s 34-10 victory over the Browns. Amegadjie started the game for the Bears and was also playing into the fourth quarter.
Wills got some action in between, but he did not play well. The former top-10 pick could not handle Julian Okwara, who got the sack on quarterback Tyson Bagent. That was arguably the worst play of the game for the offensive line. Although Amegadjie appeared to outplay Wills during this game, head coach Ben Johnson did not shed light on whether or not either player gained any traction in the left tackle battle.
“I think that’s a hard one for me to assess right now,” Johnson said. “Sometimes that trench play, you have to go ahead and take a look at the lens from behind and really be able to take a look at it. But, as a whole, I would say the offensive line – I felt like our quarterback got hit more than I would like. Tyson certainly did in the first half. And in the second half, we still felt some pressures there are [quarterbacks] Case [Keenum] and Miller [Moss].
“So, we’ll look at why that was the case. Then running game-wise was a little bit spotty as well. So, different style. The defense certainly attributes to that. Their front is coming off the ball, and they make it very difficult for one-on-one blocks and you have to be very specific with your angles and all that. And so, there’s a back and forth there in the running game as well. So, hard to say a whole lot about left tackle quite yet.”
Perhaps Chicago’s next preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals next Saturday will provide a better idea of who the Bears’ starting left tackle is going to be this season, especially with Jones expected to return and if the Bears opt to play some of their starters in that game.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson updates Bears’ left tackle battle after preseason opener
Reporting by Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
