Chicago Bears: Ben Johnson tempers expectations for Ozzy Trapilo to be ready for Week 1

Last season, Chicago Bears second round pick Ozzy Trapilo emerged as the team’s starting left tackle. Unfortunately, they did not have him for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Trapilo ruptured his patellar tendon in the Wild Card Round, and it was widely believed that he was going to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season as a result.

Recently, though, the Bears activated Trapilo from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He has returned to practice, but has not participated in any intense drills. Still, many believe (hope) that he will be able to start for Chicago come Week One of the regular season.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson wants to bring Ozzy Trapilo along slowly

One of the biggest questions entering the offseason was who would start at left tackle in Trapilo’s absence. Now that he is off the PUP list, many do not think there should be any concern regarding that position any longer.

However, head coach Ben Johnson reminded everyone today that it is no guarantee that his preferred left tackle will be ready for the start of the year.

“Physically, we feel really good about where he’s at,” the Bears head coach 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.”

As one can tell, Chicago first wants Trapilo to build up to the point where he can participate in padded practices, much less face the rigors of an actually NFL game. There is no guarantee, at least at this point, that he will even be ready to play in any preseason games.

The Bears should be, and are being, cautious about allowing him to condition his way up to game shape and building trust in his knee again.

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