Undrafted Canadian Theo Benedet makes bid to start for Bears at left tackle

Theo Benedet doesn't have a typical resume for an NFL player, never mind a starter.

But the undrafted Canadian has raised eyebrows at Chicago Bears training camp and is in the running to start at the all-important left tackle position.

“He’s right in the middle of (the competition),” Bears first-year head coach Ben Johnson told reporters Friday. “He was probably overlooked to start this competition, but the longer this thing’s gone on, there’s a strong argument for what he’s put on tape.”

The UBC Thunderbirds product is battling returning starter Braxton Jones, second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo and second-year man Kiran Amegadjie for the job.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Benedet got most of the first-team reps in a joint practice with the visiting Buffalo Bills on Friday. The same two teams square off in a pre-season game on Sunday night in Chicago.

“This is not going to be a revolving door,” Johnson said before practice, per the Sun-Times. “We want one guy to clearly come out and say this is his job. We haven’t gotten that yet from our crew.

“I’d love to have five guys start on the offensive line for all 17-plus games, but that’s just not reality. We are going to have a lot of guys cycling through ... If one guy is not performing up to snuff, then we will find someone else who can.”

The 23-year-old Benedet, who was raised in Vancouver, signed with the Bears in the spring of 2024 after going undrafted. 3DownNation reported Benedet's deal included $80,000 in guaranteed money and a $20,000 signing bonus.

Benedet was waived after the 2024 pre-season before joining Chicago's practice roster, where he stayed the rest of the year. He was signed to a reserves/futures contract after the 2024 campaign.

The six-foot-seven, 305-pound Benedet won back-to-back J.P. Metras Trophies as the top lineman in U Sports football. He was invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl in 2022 for draft-eligible prospects but chose to return to school, helping UBC reach the Vanier Cup in 2023.

Benedet was picked by his hometown B.C. Lions in the second round (15th overall) of the 2024 CFL Draft.

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