Chicago Bears Inactives vs. Detroit Lions

The list of inactive players for the Chicago Bears’ Week 16 showdown against the Detroit Lions is out…and it is not That includes left tackle Braxton Jones. This means the Bears will have their starting left tackle in their Thanksgiving rematch against the Lions. This time of year, the small successes feel big.

Jones has been Chicago’s primary starting left tackle since his rookie year in 2022. Since entering the league, Jones has been a solid, stable and reliable presence, protecting the blindsides of Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian, Nathan Peterman, Tyson Bagent and now. Caleb Williams.

MORE: Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are heading in the right direction

Braxton Jones is not the best left tackle in the NFL. But at this point in his career, Jones might be underrated, if only because solid but unspectacular performances aren’t valued as much as they probably should be. Jones is Pro Football Focus’ 20th highest-graded offensive tackle with a grade of 76.3. To put that in perspective, Kiran Amegadjie’s Week 15 grade of 39.5 was the worst for the entire team. A reminder that things can always get worse.

Chicago Bears Week 16 inactive against Detroit Lions

Here’s what the Bears’ list of inactive players looks like for their Week 16 game against the Lions:

• Travis Homer, running back
• Cornerback Ameer Speed
• Linebacker Noah Sewell
• Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr.
• Offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr.
• Offensive player Kiran Amegadjie

The only surprise on the Bears’ inactive list is offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie. Six days ago, Amegadjie was the team’s starting left guard, forced into the starting lineup out of necessity. But fast forward to game day and the Yale product is a healthy scratch. That seems telling about how the Bears currently feel about the rookie. That’s not to say Amegadjie can’t still develop into a useful piece of the offensive line puzzle. But for me, a healthy scratch in Week 16 after being a starter on Monday Night Football might as well be a public statement that the rookie is still developing.

Here are the Bears’ healthy and available offensive linemen today: Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Matt Pryor, Darnell Wright, Larry Borom, Jake Curhan and Chris Glaser.

We’ll have more for you later this morning in our pre-game post.