Bears’ untimely injury brings more uncertainty back to a crucial position looking ahead to the 2026 season
It’s going to be a long road to recovery for Chicago Bears left tackle Ozzy Trapilo.
The Chicago Bears entered into the 2025 season with a lot of uncertainty at the left tackle position, but the team had multiple options to consider throughout the summer and into the season before really assessing the position as a potential top need in 2026.
After a lengthy offseason battle, the Bears settled on Braxton Jones as the opening day starter before eventually pulling the short leash a replacing him with Theo Benedet to add a boost to the run game in Week 4. Benedet held down the starting job until after Week 11, when an injury opened the door for second round rookie Ozzy Trapilo to get his chance to show off his development.
Against some top caliber defensive fronts, Trapilo held his own and gave the team a sense of belief that he could actually be the guy at left tackle for the future. However, Trapilo suffered a brutal and untimely patellar tendon injury last Saturday in the team’s first round playoff win. That sets up a long road of recovery for Trapilo and brings more uncertainty back to the team’s left tackle position.
Ozzy Trapilo recovery timeline after suffering patellar tendon injury
A patellar tendon injury is one of the more severe and unpredictable injuries out there in sports. Granted, times have changed recently in terms of sports medicine, this is still an injury that’s hard to predict from a recovery standpoint.
Patellar tendon injuries can take 6-12 months to properly rehab depending on the following factors: extent of the tear, age of the player, player’s position, and more.
The most notable case of this injury happened with former tight end Jimmy Graham, who ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee during a game in November 2015. Graham successfully returned and played all 16 games in the following season in 2016 at a Pro Bowl level. Not only that, he played six more seasons in the NFL. But, Graham was also a freak athlete and played tight end.
The most recent notable example of an offensive tackle recovering from a patellar tendon injury involved Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons, who tore his patellar tendon in mid-October during his final season at Ohio State. That injury heavily impacted Simmons’ draft status, but the Chiefs still made the decision to draft him with their first-round pick.
To get more insight on Simmons’ recovery process and how he performed post-injury, I spoke with our A to Z Sports Kansas City writer Charles Goldman.
“The good news for Trapilo is that patellar tendon injuries aren’t the metaphorical death sentence they once were for NFL athletes, and specifically for offensive linemen.
Josh Simmons is certainly an example of that. Most of Simmons’ rehab and recovery took place away from the club, and while he was still in college at Ohio State. That said, the Chiefs were super cautious and careful with the injury and had a succinct plan after drafting him. A big part of that was easing him into action, with no participation in the team’s rookie minicamp, limited participation and ramp-up during OTAs, which led to full participation at training camp. Trapilo is likely looking at a different timeline, having hurt his knee in the playoffs rather than in October like Simmons did.
Returning to play at a high level was no issue for Simmons, who performed admirably with one sack and 12 total pressures in the first five games of the 2025 NFL season before an off-field personal issue disrupted his season. At times, he looked like the best rookie offensive tackle in football.”
How big of a need will LT be viewed by the staff heading into 2026 season?
For the remainder of the postseason, the Bears will turn back to Benedet at left tackle. Benedet started in place of Trapilo back in Week 18 and took his place for the remainder of the game on Saturday. The immediate backup will likely be Jones, after having his 21-day practice window opened last week. The Bears can place Trapilo on the IR this week and use that spot to fully activate Jones.
Looking ahead to the 2026 season, the Bears only have one other tackle under contract outside of Trapilo and starting right tackle Darnell Wright. That player is 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie, who’s played six total games since being drafted a spent the entire 2025 season on the injured reserve.
Johnson noted last spring that the Bears are high on Amegadjie’s development but his own injury concerns aren’t helping things for the young tackle. At best, he can only be relied upon as a swing tackle if healthy, but even then, this staff hasn’t seen much out of him in a live game environment.
Benedet is expected to be an exclusive rights free agent after the season, meaning the Bears can just apply the ERFA tender, for the price of the minimum salary. If they do, Benedet has no option but to accept it or retire from the league. So, he’s very likely going to be an option next season as well.
Personally, I don’t see tackle being viewed as a top major need for the offseason (either FA or draft), despite Trapilo’s significant injury. Saying this team has confidence in Benedet holding down the fort and still has belief in Amegadjie’s development, I’d roll with those two and hope Trapilo’s rehab goes as quickly as possible and that he can potentially return to a similar level of play post-injury.
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