Bears pump the brakes on the Ozzy Trapilo hype for Week 2 but his inactive status shouldn’t last much longer
The Chicago Bears have listed offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo has a healthy inactive for the Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings with Braxton Jones set to start at left tackle.
The Chicago Bears are fully healthy going into Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with less than 90 minutes until kickoff. No players were ruled out due to injury for the Bears going into this game, but five were listed as healthy inactives.
The inactives list includes: OT Ozzy Trapilo, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OL Jordan McFadden, and QB Case Keenum (emergency third quarterback).
That’s the expected list I had coming into this game, but Trapilo being a healthy inactive after being a full participant on Friday might be a surprise to others. So, let’s break it down.
Ozzy Trapilo still needs to get more days of practice under his belt before being ready for game action
Friday’s practice was Trapilo’s first practice as a full participant since suffering a patellar tendon injury back in January. He’s had a remarkable recovery process so far, but it’s worth noting that Friday’s practice was a short session in shorts and shells, not a fully padded practice.
Trapilo simply isn’t ready for a live game, yet, but it’s coming sooner than later. If Trapilo can get a full workload in at practice next week, there’s a real possibility we could see him at least be active in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He’s getting mixed in here and there,” Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor said earlier this week. “Again, we’re just following the advice of the athletic staff.”
Eventually, the Bears will have Trapilo back in the fold as an option to start on the offensive line. For now, he’s going to have to sit another game out despite all of the excitement that was building around him going into the weekend.
Another big opportunity for Braxton Jones
In the meantime, Braxton Jones is expected to be making a second consecutive start at left tackle later today against the Vikings. It’ll be another big opportunity and a big challenge for him against the Vikings’ defensive front.
The last time Jones started against Minnesota and a Brian Flores-led unit, he allowed six pressures and two QB hits. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, Jones allowed two pressures with a 51.9 pass blocking grade with a 67.9 run blocking grade. We’ll see how Jones can hold up later today in some pretty rough conditions.
As for the other tackle spot, Darnell Wright was fully cleared on Friday after dealing with a knee injury earlier in the week. With Trapilo inactive, the top depth tackle option will be Theo Benedet while Luke Newman serves as the top backup guard with McFadden inactive.
