Rashawn Slater’s season-ending patellar tendon tear leaves the Los Angeles Chargers in scramble mode, and they can’t afford to wishcast Justin Herbert’s blind side.
“It’s like a gut punch right to the solar plexus,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said about Slater’s injury. “It takes the wind out of ya. You can’t even talk too much. You don’t really have the words or able to think about anything else. I just feel bad for Rashawn. I know how much he’s put into it.”
As it stands, the Chargers are set to flip Joe Alt to left tackle, but the depth behind him is thin. Considering their current issues, the Chargers should call the Chicago Bears about Braxton Jones.
Windy City Gridiron’s Josh Sunderbruch thinks the “best case scenario” for Jones and the Bears would be that “a team like the Chargers suffers a setback and offers a Day 2 pick” for the Bears O-lineman.
Could the possibility of getting a Day 2 pick make Jones more expendable? That depends.
A Look at Jones’ 3 Seasons in the NFL
Jones’ résumé is certainly better than that if the average mid-round flier. A fifth-round pick in 2022 out of Southern Utah, he won the Bears’ starting left tackle job as a rookie and proceeded to start all 17 games, earning PFWA All-Rookie honors and a spot on PFF’s All-Rookie team. For a Day 3 tackle, that’s rare.
Year 2 brought a tad of turbulence. Jones suffered a hamstring injury early in the season and was placed on injured reserve before eventually returning to the active roster in November. After the injury, he reclaimed his job and played respectably down the stretch.
In 2024, Jones started 12 games for the Bears before suffering the worst injury of his young career when he broke his ankle. Now heading into Year 4, Jones is currently fighting to keep his old job.
The Bears have a competition at LT going on between rookie second-rounder Ozzy Trapilo and Jones. Chicago also has second-year tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the mix.
Considering Jones’ reputation as a credible protector on the blind side — who’s also on a very affordable rookie contract — there could certainly be some trade interest there, at least from L.A.
Why Los Angeles Chargers Should Be Interested in a Trade for Bears LT Braxton Jones
GettyThe Los Angeles Chargers make sense as a trade partner for Braxton Jones.
For the Chargers, Slater’s loss has left a huge void at LT. Moving Alt across helps, but L.A. still needs a trustworthy starter or swing who can play either side, and Jamaree Salyer is best as a reserve — even if he can spot-start.
Jones is in the final year of his rookie deal with a cap hit just under $3.8 million—team-friendly for a club that just committed major money to Slater.
From a scheme standpoint, Jones also checks several boxes. Harbaugh’s attack majors in downhill gap with enough wide-zone to stress the edges; Jones has handled true island pass sets in Chicago and he has been adequate on outside runs.
Plug him in and the Chargers would preserve continuity; Jones at left tackle while Alt remains at right. In the loaded AFC West, this is the kind of proactive move that can keep a season on track after a brutal camp injury.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Bears are interested in moving Jones. If they were open to a trade, it surely wouldn’t be for less than a Day 2 pick, as Sunderbruch suggested. If Jones signs elsewhere in 2026 and gets paid top-20 tackle money, the Bears are slated to snag a fourth-round compensatory pick.
Thus, if they can get a fourth-rounder or higher, they may consider it, but it’s highly unlikely considering the role Jones has had over the last three years. It makes more sense for the Bears to keep him around for the upcoming season unless they get an offer they can’t refuse.
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