Ryan Poles provides injury update on Ozzy Trapilo that can allow the Bears to rethink how dire the need is at left tackle
The Chicago Bears need at left tackle might not be as dire as many thought this offseason.
The Chicago Bears felt they had an answer at left tackle with second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo after flip-flopping around at the position all offseason and into the 2025 regular season.
After originally starting Braxton Jones and then switching to Theo Benedet, injuries forced the Bears to throw Trapilo into the fire to see if he would sink or swim. Trapilo not only swam, but showed immense promise against some of the most elite talent in the league as a starter on the blindside.
However, Trapilo suffered a patellar tendon injury during the team’s wild card win against the Green Bay Packers that put his career in jeopardy and the left tackle need back on the team’s radar. Or so we initially thought.
Bears believe Ozzy Trapilo can return to his normal self, but will still miss majority of 2026 season
Given the severity of Trapilo’s injury, it was logical to assume the Bears would be back in the market for a starting left tackle. It’s a difficult injury to recover from and even more difficult to get back into shape as a starting-caliber NFL player.
However, while talking with the local media at the NFL Scouting Combine, Bears general manager Ryan Poles noted that he expects Trapilo to “to be back and be himself.” But, the team is still anticipating that Trapilo will miss the majority of the 2026 season as he recovers.
“We expect him to come back and heal from it,” Poles said of Trapilo. “There’s a plan in place. I can’t get into the timelines or anything like that, I just don’t know. But, yeah, we expect him to be back and be himself. Pretty significant injury that he’s got to get through, but in terms of affecting his overall career or next year, I don’t see that being an issue.”
That’s still great news for the Bears and makes it easier to assess that position as a need this offseason. Essentially, all the Bears need is a stop-gap option to compete for the starting job until Trapilo returns. Poles made sure to mention that the Bears intend to keep first-team All Pro left guard Joe Thuney and second-team All Pro right tackle Darnell Wright at their respective positions, which leaves Theo Benedet and Kiran Amegadjie as the only viable options currently on the roster.
Poles did mention the possibility of re-signing Jones, the team’s former fifth-round pick who’s started over 40 games at left tackle, or the possibility of adding another tackle via free agency or the draft. But, no longer seems like a need that would require high dollar or a high draft pick to address.
“We’ll look at all of the opportunities out there,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson added when talking to the media. “We’ve got a lot of conversations going on for what that’s going to look like.”
It’s clear there’s a lot of moving parts still in play to see how the Bears look to sure up that fifth spot on the offensive line. But, it’s good to hear that Trapilo is expected to be back and be himself down the road.
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