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. The crux of the discussion between Barnwell and Mays was whether Chicago has set itself up well at tackle in 2024 and the immediate years ahead.

“[I’m] not that concerned, no,” Mays responded. “I think the main question you have to answer is: Does Braxton Jones clear the bar where you think he needs to be replaced, you have that level of urgency? I think he is a solid enough player where I wouldn’t categorize it that way.”

Mays went on to say he liked how Chicago approached the position during the draft, while Barnwell wasn’t as much of a fan.

“My question with Braxton Jones isn’t: Can you go into this season with him and be okay? It’s: When you get two years down the road, are you willing to extend him and pay him?” Mays explained. “So the fact that they took a potential high-upside option that needs some time and some work in the third round, and two years from now he might be ready to be your starting left tackle — I don’t mind them approaching the position that way whatsoever.”

Barnwell, however, did mind the Bears’ process.

“You don’t kinda feel like this is two quarters adding up to 50 cents, though?” Barnwell posed. “Braxton Jones is probably not a long-term answer at left tackle. Amegadjie, we don’t know yet, obviously. But he is a project. He’s not a plug-and-play left tackle by any means. I just sort of wonder that you’re gonna be caught between those two windows with Caleb Williams. … If you were Ryan Poles would you be looking at someone like Donovan Smith and saying, ‘Hey, maybe this makes sense for us?’”

Approximately two weeks later, Barnwell authored a pitch that would land Smith with the New England Patriots — another potentially tackle-needy franchise, though one in considerably worse shape at the position than Chicago. Still, Barnwell’s justifications for the Patriots’ pursuit of Smith mirrors the argument one could make about the Bears.

“As the Patriots try to build a new offense around their new quarterback, they haven’t taken many home run swings,” Barnwell wrote. “The Pats have to play their young players, and Smith might not be up for the task of spending the season with a team that [may not] compete. After they failed to give [quarterback] Mac Jones what he needed to thrive, though, they shouldn’t hold back if they can land Smith for 2024.”

The Bears should be able to compete after finishing last season 7-10 with elite-level defensive play down the stretch. Chicago also has a rookie quarterback in Williams, but the roster is stronger than the one in New England across most of the board on both sides of the football.

Smith will play next season at 31 years old and is coming off of a one-year deal worth $3 million in Kansas City. He signed a two-year extension in Tampa Bay worth $31 million in March 2021 after inking a three-year contract for $41 million total with the Bucs in March 2019, per Spotrac. The website projects his market value at $5.1 million annually ($10.2 million total) over a new two-year contract.