“That’s a hard one”: Bears HC Ben Johnson gets real on 1 positional battle

Preseason games allow NFL head coaches and their staff to run plays in actual games. That was the case for the Chicago Bears and Ben Johnson on Saturday, playing against the Cleveland Browns. It also allowed him and his staff to assess different positions, including left tackle.

Tyson Bagent started under center for Chicago, and Johnson expressed unhappiness with the amount of times defenders reached him. The team provided him the opportunity to prove his worth after playing in limited time since entering the league in 2023.

Bagent completed 13-of-22 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 34-10 win. Case Keenum and Miller Moss also received some valuable playing time. Keenum was particularly impressive, finishing with 9-of-10 completions for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks during Minicamp at Halas Hall.

Ben Johnson remains noncommittal on starting left tackle position

During his postgame availability, Johnson admitted that he faces a dilemma on who he’ll start at left tackle.

“That’s a hard one to assess right now, Johnson said. ”With trench play, you’ve got to look at it from behind on film. Overall, our quarterbacks got hit more than I’d like — Tyson in the first half, and we still felt pressure on Case and Miller in the second. The run game was spotty, too. Their front comes off the ball and makes one-on-one blocks difficult, so you have to be precise with angles. Too early to draw firm conclusions on left tackle just yet.”

Chicago has two more preseason games left. The team will take on the Cincinnati Bengals next Saturday before wrapping up its slate versus the Tennessee Titans the following week.

Johnson and the Bears will open their regular season with an away game on Sept. 13 against the Carolina Panthers. Their home opener is set for Week 2 on Sept. 20 when they host the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Between now and Week 1, the head coach will have several big decisions to make, especially naming starters at different positions.