The Chicago Bears have a very important position battle going on during camp and the preseason: a battle for the starting left tackle position, which has only recently opened up. J'Marcus Webb was the presumed starter entering training camp, and was the first guy to play the position in the team's preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.
After returning to practice following the game, Webb began sharing first-team reps with Chris Williams on the left side. Coach Lovie Smith said that "all positions are open," but the clear perception was that Webb was going to be the unquestioned starter. It doesn't appear as though Webb had a rough time in the game against Denver, though Jason Campbell was sacked once while Webb was on the field.
According to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN, via Twitter, the plan is for Williams to see some first-team snaps at left tackle against the Washington Redskins on Saturday. That will be the team's second preseason game, and it's likely we'll know a lot more about the competition after that as well as the third week of the preseason, when starters are traditionally played the longest.
Chris Williams originally played left tackle, but switched to back up Gabe Carimi at the right tackle position when he had some issues with his right knee. Now that he's battling Webb again, it's possible the Bears got a good look at him and decided that he needed to compete.
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