The Chicago Bears’ left tackle competition took an interesting turn when Ozzy Trapilo was removed from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and returned to practice before training camp’s end.
As a rookie, Trapilo finished the season as Chicago’s starter at left tackle, but he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers that put his 2026 season in jeopardy. It was originally thought that Trapilo would miss most of this season, but he shocked everyone by returning just seven months after his injury. With a few weeks to go until the season opener, head coach Ben Johnson feels good about Trapilo’s progress.
“Physically, we feel really good about where he’s at,” Johnson said. “Now it’s a race to see how quickly we can rebuild that confidence… we felt like this is a good opportunity over the course of training camp, with the padded practices we’re gonna have, to start building up that confidence again.”
Just because Trapilo has been removed from the PUP list does not mean that he will be healthy to start the regular season. He could still start the season on injured reserve. However, these reps during padded practice go a long way toward building Trapilo’s confidence and allow him to return to the field much sooner this year than originally expected.
In the meantime, the Bears still have to decide who will start the season at left tackle. It doesn’t appear Kiran Amegadjie or Jedrick Wills helped their case in Chicago’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, as both were moved to right tackle during Tuesday’s practice while Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet got lit tackle reps.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson provides update on Bears LT Ozzy Trapilo’s status
Reporting by Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ariana Pensy, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
