Things went haywire pretty quickly for offensive lineman Jonah Jackson last year in Los Angeles.
After four years with the Detroit Lions, including two with new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator, Jackson hit the free agent market a year ago and landed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams.
A new beginning it was not.
First, the Rams asked Jackson to play a new position at center. Then a shoulder injury in late July further complicated matters. He battled back in time to start the first two games of the 2024 season before reinjuring his shoulder. Jackson started only four games last season.
One year into the contract, the Rams decided changes were needed on their offensive line. Jackson was the odd man out. They traded Jackson to the Bears last week in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
“Last year was a little hiccup along the road,” Jackson said Wednesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “But things like that happen. I feel like it definitely sharpened me a little bit.”
Johnson and Bears general manager Ryan Poles were happy to learn Jackson was available. Johnson, in particular, has first-hand experience with Jackson and knows how good he could be from their time together in Detroit. Johnson believes Jackson can be an integral part of the reimagined offensive line in Chicago. The Bears also traded for All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and signed veteran center Drew Dalman in the past week.
The plan is to play Jackson at right guard, Dalman at center and Thuney at left guard. Jackson mostly played left guard for the Lions, but the hope is that a transition from one guard spot to another should be more manageable than a move to center was a year ago.
“The guy’s a Pro Bowl-caliber guard,” Johnson said of Jackson. “So that’s what we’re going to get out of him.”
Jackson made one Pro Bowl appearance during his second season in 2021, but he will have to prove himself to his new team. The Bears are betting on that potential. They’ll take on the remaining two years of the contract Jackson signed with the Rams.
Poles had been keeping an eye on Jackson from afar. The GM said he was a big fan of the guard when Jackson was playing college ball at Rutgers.
“The guy is made of the right stuff,” Poles said. “He’s capable of really helping us up front anchoring (in pass protection), but also getting push in the run game.”
The Bears will need all three of their new additions along the offensive line to do just that. This offseason appears to be all about reinforcing the trenches. That’s where the Bears have focused their efforts in free agency. Offensively, that means giving quarterback Caleb Williams a more stable pocket to throw from.
“He’s taken a lot of hits,” Jackson said of Williams. “You’ve got to build confidence in a young guy like that, in any quarterback, honestly. I feel like that’s something we’re able to bring to the table.”
Reuniting with Johnson in Chicago certainly has appeal for Jackson. He started 57 games for the Lions from 2020-23. Jackson and the Lions won only eight combined games during his first two seasons before head coach Dan Campbell began to turn things around. Now that team is among the NFC’s best.
A key part of that process was promoting Johnson to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 season. Thuney, who was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs, noted the creative plays Johnson comes up with, which caught the eye of many around the league, including the Bears.
But Jackson saw something else in those Lions teams.
“Definitely the investment in the trenches,” Jackson said. “In the offensive line and the defensive line. And, like I said, putting your head down, going to work, trusting the process.”
Those are two things the Bears are trying to replicate in Chicago.
