Ryan Poles’ actions are contradicting his words when it comes to Ozzy Trapilo and the Bears’ plans at left tackle
The Chicago Bears are taking interest in multiple top offensive tackles ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Chicago Bears are going into the second consecutive season with a weak link at the left tackle position after starting four different players at the position during the 2025 season.
The Bears thought they had a promising option in 2025 second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo, who slowly developed before getting thrown into the fire midway through the regular season. However, Trapilo suffered a significant patellar tendon injury in the wild card round at clouded the positional outlook going into 2026.
During the NFL Scouting Combine, Bears general manager Ryan Poles provided some optimism about Trapilo’s recovery outlook while noting he would still be expected to miss the majority, if not all, of the 2026 season.
“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.”
Bears original plan put in place during free agency backed up those comments
Poles was essentially saying that the Bears had confidence in Trapilo attacking the rehab and returning to form by 2027. Which means the team only really needed to address the position with a stopgap option for 2026 before being able to evaluate out Trapilo looked after his recovery.
That’s at least the plan the team had during free agency. Chicago first re-signed Braxton Jones, the former 2022 fifth-round pick that started 44 games in his first four seasons. Injuries derailed his fourth season, despite winning the opening day starting job. Jones was replaced by Week 4 and never saw the field again, which actually allowed the Bears to get good value in bringing him back.
“Being able to re-sign with the Bears for another year and just the opportunity that is presented is amazing,” Jones said to ChicagoBears.com. “I’m extremely grateful. I’m excited to show that I can go out and be full go.”
As an insurance policy, the Bears took a one-year flier on former first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr., who sat out the 2025 season to fully recover from an injury-filled first five seasons. He’s shown the ability to play at a high level before and signing with Chicago gives him a chance to salvage his NFL career.
“They wanted me to have here, have me here on the roster, and they gave me another chance to play, basically just competition,” Wills explained. “Coming in and just trying to prove what I can do and see where that takes me.”
Those two signings lined up with what Poles said about Trapilo’s recovery and the eventual plans at the left tackle position by adding one-year options. What Poles has done since free agency, however, is starting to contradict his words.
Ryan Poles has personally attended Pro Days for two top offensive tackles in the draft
Earlier this week, Poles was in attendance for the Alabama and Arizona State Pro Days. Why is that significant? Both programs have first-round caliber offensive tackles coming out in the 2026 NFL Draft in Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor and Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor.
Proctor is built similar to Trapilo as a 6-7, 369 pound offensive tackle but unlike Trapilo, Proctor has extensive experience at the left tackle position after being a three-year starter. He’s still 20-years-old and projects as a long-term starting left tackle for any team that drafts him in the first-round.
Iheanachor is more of a developmental prospect. He’s not only raw at the offensive tackle position but at football in general. Basically all of his experience thus far has been at right tackle, but he can easily be molded into a left tackle just like Trapilo was in Chicago. In the right system and with the right coaching, Iheanachor has the tools to be a Pro Bowl worthy player. On top of having Poles visit the Pro Day, Iheanachor also confirmed he will have a 30 visit in Chicago.
Showing such interest in a first-round tackle prospect contradicts what Poles said about Trapilo’s outlook after the 2026 season. If the Bears go this direction and draft a top offensive tackle with the 25th overall pick, it’ll show the team doesn’t have as much confidence in Trapilo as one assumed. Or, the Bears are just making sure that one way or another, left tackle won’t be a weak link again.
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