Could Bears have a center competition brewing after shaky Bengals practice?

There's no indication the Bears are ready to turn Garrett Bradbury's starting job into an open competition with rookie Logan Jones. But Thursday's joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals provided the first real reason to keep an eye on the position as the preseason moves forward.

Chicago's offensive line had difficulty handling Cincinnati's defensive front, particularly when pressure came through the interior. Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was disruptive throughout the session, including tipping a Caleb Williams pass and intercepting it himself.

Bradbury is the lone new starter on the interior of an offensive line that otherwise returns guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. And Thursday wasn't particularly clean.

Caleb Williams, Garrett Bradbury have issues to clean up

One of the more noticeable mistakes came immediately.

Williams and Bradbury fumbled the exchange on the offense's first snap, something Williams acknowledged afterward while explaining that he and his new center need to continue developing their communication.

"It’s just being able to communicate on those and figure out what happened — if I was too quick, if I was too slow," Williams said, via The Athletic. "It’s just (Bradbury) and I being able to work together and communicate on those things."

A bad snap in an August practice isn't enough to sound an alarm. But the broader performance of the interior offensive line deserves attention.

The Bengals consistently generated pressure against Williams, and while it's impossible, without reviewing the assignments, to place responsibility for every breakdown on Bradbury, the center has an especially important role in identifying fronts and helping to organize protection.

That's something Ben Johnson emphasized before the practice.

"What I want to see is alignment, assignment, pre-snap taken care of," Johnson said.

Thursday provided plenty for Johnson and offensive line coach Dan Roushar to review.

Logan Jones is the name to watch behind Garrett Bradbury

This is where Logan Jones enters the chat.

The Bears used the 56th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Jones, and the former Iowa center wasn't selected that early simply to provide long-term depth.

There are no indications that Bradbury's starting job is currently in jeopardy. And one difficult joint practice certainly shouldn't erase everything the Bears have seen from him throughout the offseason.

Bradbury has also earned strong reviews from his teammates. Thuney recently praised his intelligence, communication, athleticism, and ability to quickly learn Chicago's terminology. But Jones gives the Bears an alternative they didn't have at center for many years.

And the closer the regular season gets, the less patience Johnson is likely to have for recurring communication or protection problems in front of Williams.

Bears shouldn't rush into a center competition

There's an important distinction between something worth monitoring and an actual position battle. Right now, this is the former.

Thursday's problems weren't exclusively Bradbury's. Chicago also continued rotating Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet at left tackle, and the Bengals' defensive front generated problems from multiple positions. The practice ended especially poorly for the Bears offense, with Cincinnati producing a sack and an interception on the final two plays of a two-minute drill.

The Bears need to review the film before determining exactly where the protection failures occurred. But that's what makes Saturday's preseason game and the remaining practices worth watching.

If Bradbury responds and the quarterback-center operation settles down, there's probably nothing to discuss. If the interior pressure, protection issues, or exchange problems become a trend?

Suddenly, the second-round rookie waiting behind him becomes considerably more interesting.