Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones' starting job is up for grabs as the 2025 NFL Draft nears.

Chicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones is in the middle of a long and intensive rehab program after suffering a fractured ankle at the end of the 2024 regular season. He's finally on his feet and slowly getting back to football shape, but with the 2025 NFL Draft less than one week away, there's a good chance the Bears' new coaching staff will look to move on from him in the starting lineup.

Had Jones finished last season healthy, there probably wouldn't be much debate about his role on the team. He's been one of Chicago's most consistent starting offensive linemen at a position where consistency is hard to find.

But with serious concerns about what his post-injury level of play might be, general manager Ryan Poles will have no choice but to strongly consider a left tackle at No. 10 overall in the 2025 draft.

The Bears' new offensive line coach, Dan Roushar, met with reporters this week and, to put it bluntly, failed to give Jones a vote of confidence as Chicago's offseason workout program marches on.

“Very determined person,” Roushar said of Jones. “You love all those traits about him. I do. I think we all have the vision that if he were healthy, he would be competing as our starting left tackle. For all of our guys right now, nobody is set in stone. There’s competition across the board in this entire building, for all of us. I think that in his case not being able to right now, immediately go out there and begin work as we start, self-admittedly, it’s a setback for him."

A setback is one way to put it. Devastating to his outlook as a Chicago Bear is another.

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Braxton Jones could lose his starting job to Bears' 2025 NFL Draft first-round pick

There's a chance that either Will Campbell (LSU), Armand Membou (Missouri) or Kelvin Banks (Texas) will be Poles' pick in the first round, and if any of them are, then Jones' time as a first-teamer is all but officially over.

“He has to stay sharp mentally," Roushar said. "He’s got to learn our language. He’s got to learn our playbook, which he will do, and then let’s assume that whenever he’s given that green light, is full go, then I expect him to return to where he was, and then our jobs are to build on what he’s done.”

Jones had a solid 2024 season before his injury. He earned the second-highest Pro Football Focus grade of all the Bears' starters and regular contributors on offense (77.4), including the highest pass-blocking grade among the starting offensive linemen. Last season's PFF grade was the highest Jones has earned from the analytics powerhouse during his three years in the NFL.

Braxton Jones has undeniably been a success story after joining the Chicago Bears as a smaller-school prospect on Day 3 of the draft. He was initially viewed as a project with upside, but he quickly secured the starting left tackle job and never looked back.

Now, Jones is looking over his shoulder at a potential first-round pick who's coming for his job.