The Chicago Bears got hit with a massive road block in the team’s short-term plans when rookie left tackle Ozzy Trapilo suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the team’s Wild Card Round win over the Green Bay Packers. It’s a significant injury, and one that will force Trapilo to miss the majority, if not all, of the 2026 season.

That injury forced the Bears to go back to the drawing board this offseason to acquire stop-gap options to compete for the left tackle position to open the season. Chicago re-signed Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones along with bringing in former first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr. to compete for that spot while Trapilo recovers.

All things considered, it was a wise plan that didn’t force the Bears to break the bank to use a top draft pick to secure a starter for the 2026 season. All three players have proved to be capable starters in the past and the competition will bring out the best in each player. Trapilo’s recovery timeline, however, will be something to monitor.

Bears LT Ozzy Trapilo, who suffered a patellar tendon injury and is expected to miss most of 2026, was spotted doing some strength and conditioning training recently. 👀

Great sign to see during his road to recovery.

🎥: bt__pp via Instagram pic.twitter.com/McG4RNt5qx

— Bearsszn (@bearszn) July 3, 2026

Could Ozzy Trapilo return during the 2026 season, or are the Bears better off playing it safe?

Patellar tendon injuries are some of the worst injuries that can occur to professional athletes and come with a lengthy recovery process, anywhere from 9-12 months. Throughout the offseason, the Bears have been quiet about Trapilo’s recovery and when fans could expect to see him back, outside of what general manager Ryan Poles said back in February.

“We expect him to come back and heal from it,” Poles said. “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.”

In the meantime, another NFC team has been dealing with a similar issue. On the same day Trapilo suffered his injury, Carolina Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu also suffered a ruptured patellar tendon forcing the Panthers to add new bodies at the position.

However, the Panthers have remained optimistic about Ekwonu’s recovery timeline. On Wednesday, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan even went as far to say that “there’s definitely some optimism” that Ekwonu would return and play during the 2026 season.

“Ickey’s really attacked this. He’s in a really good place,” Panthers GM Dan Morgan said on Wednesday of Ekwonu. “The doctors and the training staff, they’re really feeling good about where he’s at right now. It’s just a credit to Ickey and who he is, attacking this rehab, not putting his head down and sulking. He’s attacked it head-on, and I’m really proud of him and where he’s at right now.”

That alone should give Bears fans optimism that the same could be true for Trapilo. The idea of an October return still sounds really farfetched in my mind and would borderline on rushing Trapilo back. But, a late season return could be in the cards if the Bears deem it necessary to rush him back onto the field.

Bears’ interim plan at left tackle is set to finally kick into gear next week

The Bears will be back on the practice field next week and all eyes will be on that left tackle battle when training camp opens. Throughout the offseason program, Braxton Jones seemed to be in the pole position for the starting job and has carried himself with a lot more internal and external confidence compared to last season.

Still, this is going to be a competition. Benedet, Wills, and former third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie aren’t just going to roll over and let Jones run away with the starting job. Each player wants to win that job as much as the other.

“We’ll know everything when the pads come on,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said in the spring. “Right now, to evaluate offensive line and defensive line play is fool’s gold. You always fall in love with some guys in the spring time and that always changes.”

Ideally, the Bears can make a quicker decision than they made last year, when they waited until days before the regular season opener to finalize it. And time will tell when, or if, Trapilo can reenter into the conversation in 2026.