The first day of the NFL Combine was a busy one for the Chicago Bears with general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson speaking with the media for the first time since the season ended.

The bulk of the conversation was centered around potential in-house trade candidates, managing the cap space to best position the team to make more moves, and the left tackle situation following the injury to 2025 rookie Ozzy Trapilo.

Speaking more on the latter, Poles noted that the Bears expect Trapilo to return to his former self but he is expected to miss the majority of the 2026 regular season as he recovers. That puts offensive tackle back on the list of needs for this team with free agency, the draft, and in-house developments being the various options the team is considering to fill that void.

Hours after Poles left the podium, news broke about one offensive tackle option that would help elevate Chicago’s short-term issues while making the Bears’ offensive line the best in football.

Trent Williams could be headed to the open market due to financial issues with the 49ers

“With five-time All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams scheduled to carry a $39 million cap number this season, he and the 49ers currently are struggling to find a contractual solution, per league sources. If the two sides can’t bridge their differences in their standoff, Williams would be expected to join this year’s free-agent class, making him one of the premier players available,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted on X.

A player of Williams’ caliber hitting the open market is monumental news for the rest of the league. Williams has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract and it’s certainly a possibility that the two sides end up moving on if Schefter puts this out there.

If that’s the case, the Bears should at the very least check in to see what the price would be and what kind of contract Williams is looking for. Williams is 38-years-old and bringing him in on a one-year deal would be a home run swing if the Bears could make the money work.

Bears are a solid left tackle away from having the league’s best offensive front

Chicago’s offensive line construction from last offseason drew some mighty praise at the Combine with left tackle Joe Thuney being the team’s best offseason move in years, but the additions of Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson proved to be valuable as well.

With those three, and a budding star in Darnell Wright, the Bears have four solid-elite offensive linemen starting up-front and just need a solid option on the left side for 2026 and beyond.

Still tidying this up, but here's a current look at each NFL team's offensive lines with UFAs removed.

Color coding is green (good) to red (not a starter)

Had to use a few fill-ins for now (eg. entire CLE OL is a UFA).

Anyway, it's early days, but feel free to yell is you see… pic.twitter.com/0zGaZXKifj

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) February 19, 2026

While Trapilo can still be that player for the Bears, he’s not someone the team can rely on as an option in 2026 due to his injury.

It’d be a massive, and pricey swing, but it’s absolutely worth looking into Williams as an option if the 49ers decide to move on. Williams is a bad bad dude, in a good way, to add to your offense. However, the Bears would need to free a ton of space to make it happen.

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