As they try to fix their offensive line, the Chicago Bears are open to all options. With nearly $80 million to spend in free agency and four draft picks inside the top 75, it seems likely they’d choose one of those two routes.
But the Bears could also choose to trade for a key offensive lineman. They have the capital to get a deal done, the cap space to facilitate a big contract and a clear need to address. If any top linemen are available for trade, the Bears are likely listening.
Jonah Jackson of the Los Angeles Rams was just approved to seek a trade. And with connections to the current Bears regime, Ben Solak of ESPN thinks the guard could be a good fit in Chicago.
“The Bears also make sense, especially when you consider the connection between Jackson and ex-Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson,” Solak wrote.
Biggest caveat to Jonah Jackson trade
For starters, the Bears weren’t even the team to land Jackson in Solak’s experiment. He went to the New England Patriots for a sixth-round pick. So if nothing else, Chicago won’t be the only team pursuing Jackson’s services despite his past connections to Johnson.
Furthermore, Jackson is set to cost $17.5 million to any team acquiring him. Even if it would only cost a Day 3 pick, and even with Chicago’s cap space situation, that would be a hefty price to pay for a player coming off of Jackson’s season.
The guard played in only four games as he battled a shoulder injury. Los Angeles moved him from his natural guard position to center before eventually benching him. Their high-cost contract didn’t pay off, and Jackson now appears to be done with the Rams.
Before committing any draft capital or money to a trade, the Chicago Bears should first see if Jackson is released. The Rams’ cap space problems have led to potential trades of Matt Stafford and/or Cooper Kupp. There’s a solid chance Los Angeles simply can’t afford to roster Jackson in 2025.
Johnson reunites with Jackson on Chicago Bears
If Jackson is then free to sign a new contract, the Bears could then get him at an affordable rate. It’d be fair to wonder if they’d plan to start him or have him as extra depth. But when healthy, the guard has proven he can be a valuable weapon on the line.
He was a Pro Bowl nominee under Johnson in 2021. While it’d be unfair to expect that type of performance in 2025, he was a crucial part of the Lions’ run game as recently as 2023. That season, Detroit ranked fifth in the league by averaging 135.9 rushing yards per game.
Entering the 2024 season, Jackson was ranked as the 30th best guard in all of the NFL, by Pro Football Focus. He was deemed a strong interior presence, with injuries being his only red flag.
“Jackson struggled with injuries in his four years with the Lions, but he’s been a starter in every game he’s played in,” Thomas Valentine of PFF wrote. “The four-year veteran earned a 61.0 PFF overall grade in 12 games this past year, including four with a pass-blocking grade of at least 80.0.”
The injury bug came to bite again, likely abruptly ending his Rams career. But Jonah Jackson still wants to prove himself in a new opportunity with a different scheme. It seems unlikely many teams would be willing to take on the $17.5 million cap hit, making a trade questionable. However, if his health checks out, Jackson should be coveted around the league.
It’s certainly a situation to monitor for the Chicago Bears. As Ben Johnson starts to build his foundation, it wouldn’t hurt to have a player who knows how to run his scheme well.
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