Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones underwent surgery on his right knee Tuesday and won't be an option to return from injured reserve this season.
Jones, the team's starting left tackle to begin the season , injured his knee near the end of training camp but returned in time for Week 1. He was reinjured in the third quarter of the Week 3 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles when his knee buckled as he was pass blocking against Jonathan Greenard.
Jones suffered a partially torn patellar tendon, and the plan was for him to rehabilitate the injury before determining if it was feasible for him to return this season and delay surgery. After a little more than a month, it was decided to have the injury repaired, an NFL source said Wednesday.
The loss of Jones in Week 3 was disappointing for the Bears because they felt like he was delivering what they hoped to get from him this season.
"His play was steady," offensive line coach Dan Roushar said. "I thought what we were doing with him, trying to keep him fresh with a little rotation in there, was working. He was playing better than certainly the exposure we had last year to him.
"It's unfortunate that it happened, but I was really encouraged with his play. It was a big loss."
The good news for Jones, 27, is a timeline for recovery should have him healed and ready to participate in football activities by late spring. He didn't rupture the patellar tendon, the injury that Ozzy Trapilo suffered during the playoffs in January.
Jones' surgery removes a potential option at left tackle and reduces depth for the Bears as the season wears on. Theo Benedet has started five consecutive games at left tackle and Trapilo has been sprinkled in in his place. The Bears held a walk-through Wednesday evening — not a practice — and on the estimated injury report Benedet was listed as did not participate with a shoulder issue.
The Bears signed Jones this year to a one-year, $5 million contract, and he will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Originally a fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah in 2022, Jones has started 47 games for the Bears, including all 17 as a rookie.
A broken left ankle late in the 2024 season derailed him, but the recovery from knee surgery should be much smoother.
