There isn’t one Chicago Bears fan I know who wants to go back and think about the situation surrounding their offensive line in 2024. Kiran Amedgadjie wasn’t ready. Ryan Bates couldn’t stay healthy. Nate Davis couldn’t try. There were plenty of issues.

Plenty has changed since 2024. The Bears have potentially as many as four new starters across their offensive line (at least three), and the talent level has been greatly improved.

The short-term plan is good, but how about the long-term? Let’s examine each position group across the offensive line and how this team sets up down the line.

Tackles

Darnell Wright. Let’s start with the protectors on the outside, and let’s start with Darnell Wright. I would be shocked if Wright wasn’t seen as a long-term piece by Ben Johnson (and Ryan Poles). He’s entering his third year in the league, and he’s shown plenty of promise in the first two seasons despite having some very inconsistent play around him.

Wright is under control for three more seasons (two more on the rookie deal, plus the fifth-year option). If the Bears do plan to extend him, that’s something we should see get done at some point next year during the offseason. If, for whatever reason, the Bears still have some questions about handing Wright an extension (you have to figure this is going to be about 4 years and $100 to $110 million), they could wait until the 2027 offseason to extend him. But keep in mind, the longer you wait on extensions, the more expensive they get.

The expectation is that Wright is the starting right tackle in Chicago for at least the next 7 to 10 years.

Braxton Jones. The left tackle position certainly has more question marks. Looking short-term, it’s the only starting spot across the line that has questions. First, let’s call Jones what he is: he’s the best day-three pick Ryan Poles has made. He’s been an average left tackle while making $1 million a year. What Jones has been for a questionable offensive line has been critically important for the offense the last couple of seasons to even be functional.

But when you bring in the financial aspect of Jones, that’s where things get interesting, and there are two aspects to consider. The first is Jones’ performance. Jones is a steal on a fifth-round rookie contract. But what would Jones make on the open market? Dan Moore is not as good as Braxton Jones. He just signed a 4-year deal worth $82 million. If the Bears had the funds, would you want to pay Jones that much? It certainly doesn’t seem like a good value against the salary cap.

Beyond that is the Bears’ cap situation. We just said the Bears need to put pen to paper with Darnell Wright and extend him in a year. If the Bears do extend Wright, the Bears will be playing 4 offensive linemen somewhere between $14 and $25 million a year. When you have that much money committed to your line, paying a fifth lineman like Jones, at his skill level, would be a very questionable decision. You can’t pay five offensive linemen and have money available to utilize on the rest of your roster.

Kiran Amegadjie & Ozzie Trapilo. After looking at Jones, it’s clear the Bears need to pivot at left tackle. They don’t have to pivot this year, if neither of these players is ready to start, they can easily start Jones, assuming he’s healthy, and the line should be solid this year.

However, if Jones ties with one of these two players, the tie should go to youth. If both look good, perhaps Jones could even be traded, although if he leaves via free agency after this season, you would think he could land a nice contract and factor into the comp pick formula, but let’s look at these two players.

I’m intrigued by Trapilo, and I think there’s a good chance he is the team’s starting left tackle this season, and it could even be by week one. Trapilo is a guy who just doesn’t make many mistakes. He doesn’t look impressive. He’s an umpire behind home plate who just calls balls and strikes accurately. The umpire gets little to no credit, but if he’s missing calls, he becomes the story of the game. That’s Trapilo, he does his job, doesn’t make highlight reels, but doesn’t get beat very often either.

For Amegadjie, this will be a really interesting training camp and preseason to see where he is in his development. We don’t need to rehash the game in December. He was awful. That player did not look like an NFL player. Amegadjie defenders will say it’s because he was injured and didn’t have a training camp, and while that might have impacted him, the actual performance was alarming, even for a player who really should have been redshirted for the entire season.

I have a hard time seeing Amegadjie in the mix to start at left tackle this season, and possibly even next season. I think the hope is that this season he is a viable OT4 and next season he can be a viable OT3. If Amegadjie makes huge strides and becomes a viable starter, that’s nothing but awesome for the Bears. That’s the hope, but I think expectations should be tempered.

When I look at the left tackle spot, I think their starting left tackle this season is probably close to 50-50 between Trapilo and Jones to start, and I think in 2026, it’s probably about a 95% likelihood that Trapilo is the team’s starter.

When you look at the team’s long-term viability at tackle, with a Wright extension and if Trapilo is a hit, the Bears will have their bookend tackles for at least the next four years.

Center

Drew Dalman. I am not the biggest fan of Dalman, but I also recognize that his ability is about 50x better than what the Bears have had consistently over the last several seasons. I think there was a major mistake by Ryan Poles that he didn’t invest in center in 2024 when there were multiple free agents available and multiple quality centers in the draft. In 2025, the free agent class was basically Dalman or bust, and there just weren’t a lot of viable centers in the draft.

Fortunately for Poles and the Bears, they landed the one guy they had to in Dalman, and not only did they upgrade the position. They gave themselves a solid player that is under contract for the next three years. The key to Dalman is that he needs to stay healthy. He’s missed 11 games over the last two seasons.

Doug Kramer. This is the final year of his rookie contract. He isn’t it. He won’t be back next year, he might not be on the roster by September 1st.

Luke Newman & Ricky Stromberg. What the Bears have behind Dalman is a couple of giant question marks. Stromberg was a favorite of many draft analysts, but after some injury issues, his career in Washington ended quite prematurely, and the Bears signed him to their practice squad last year. Newman was the Bears’ sixth-round pick this year and, if we’re being honest, his tape at Michigan State isn’t impressive. He has some serious strength issues and doesn’t project at guard, he’s going to have to project at center.

The Bears are going to hope that Newman or Stromberg develop into a viable C2 behind Dalman, and if they develop enough, they can replace Dalman after his contract expires. If neither develop, they can take a swing at a center in the draft probably in 2027. But the bottom line here, is if Dalman plays well and stays healthy, there’s no reason to think he won’t receive a second contract in Chicago.

Ben Johnson thinks the center position is critical to his offense. Frank Ragnow is one of the best in the league, and he was a key piece for Johnson in Detroit. Johnson is going to hope that Dalman has an upward trajectory, and if he does continue to develop and become a top 5 to 7 center in the league, he’s going to be in front of Caleb Williams for at least five years.

Guard

Joe Thuney. If you want to upgrade your offensive line, trading for one of the top 5 guards in the NFL is a good place to start. Thuney was still playing at an All-Pro level last year. Thuney will be 33 this November, but there should be no expectations that he falls off a cliff this year. He’s only missed two games in his NFL career, and while he will be 35 at the end of this contract, he is the type of player who can 100% play at a high level until that age.

Even if Thuney’s performance falls off some, and he is simply a ‘very good’ guard, at the $17 million the Bears are paying him over the next three years, that’s still a great value and a great piece to be a part of this line.

Jonah Jackson. Of the three new pieces across the interior, most questions should be about Jackson. Jackson was a strong guard for Ben Johnson in Detroit, but he left last year via free agency for the LA Rams, and he was an absolute disaster. Jackson struggled to stay healthy, but even when his health improved, he was left on the bench for performance reasons.

Perhaps Jackson just needs to get back with Johnson and his scheme, and he will return to his previous form. The Bears chose to give Jackson a contract extension immediately, so he is also signed for three years. If Jackson plays well, the Bears are in a great spot where all three of their starting interior linemen are signed for the next three years. However, if Jackson is the Rams version and not the Lions version, he’s going to struggle this year and has a nearly fully guaranteed 2026 as well.

Hopefully, Jackson returns to form and if so, his contract will age well. If he doesn’t, that’s going to be a bit of a mess next year.

Ryan Bates. I have a hard time believing that Bates will receive another contract in Chicago. He wasn’t healthy all last season, and his issues seem to be chronic. There’s a decent chance Bates won’t be on the roster this year (he leaves zero dead cap if he’s cut), but if he is, I have to figure this will be his final year on the team.

Bill Murray. I was a fan of this signing when the Bears made it. I had heard some positive things about Murray in New England as he converted from the defensive to the offensive side of the ball. Murray only played limited snaps last season, but he looked like he might be a legitimate guard in the NFL, not just as a backup, but there appears to be starter potential there as well.

Now, don’t get overly excited about Murray, he’s still developing and he’s only played offensive line for a couple of seasons, but I believe Murray is a guy who, if he is called upon to start this season, will do a serviceable job up front.

So, where does this leave the Bears interior unit? It leaves them with three viable starters (if Jackson rebounds) with very little behind them. Last season, the Bears came into the season with some solid interior depth, after Bates and Nate Davis completely bombed, their depth of Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor saved the Bears unit from being the worst in the league.

The Bears don’t have that this year. They need their starting three to stay healthy, as the depth behind them just isn’t there. If Jackson rebounds and Trapilo develops, the Bears have 5 starters across their front for at least the next three years, so what the Bears need to do over the next couple of seasons is start developing a pipeline so they have guys on a rookie contract. They don’t need to spend first round picks on offensive linemen, they probably don’t have to spend second rounders on it either, but potentially in round three and definitely on day three, they need to make sure they are grabbing a guy or two each season and see if they can develop starting caliber linemen on rookie contracts.

The BearBears’e viability is excellent for the next three years. They have a couple of question marks but every team does. Their viability beyond 2027 is nonexistent. It’s time for Ryan Poles to start focusing on the line and he needs to find day three players like Braxton Jones, not day three players like Ja’Tyre Carter.