Last year was the Chicago Bears‘ first season under head coach Ben Johnson, and the results were immediate.
He led Chicago to an 11-6 record, its highest win total since 2018, and delivered the franchise’s first playoff win since 2010, a Wild Card victory over rival Green Bay. But during that game, the Bears lost one of their best players, starting left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, who tore his patellar tendon.
That type of injury typically takes six to 12 months to fully heal, and with the game taking place in early January, expectations were that Trapilo could miss the entire 2026 season. But that might not be the case. Speaking with Hoge & Jahns on Tuesday, Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Trapilo could “potentially” return before the end of training camp this month.
“We’ve talked about the different scenarios,” Poles said. “Whether he comes back and has a little bit of training camp, if he comes back in September. I think the big thing for us is padded practices. If you get too far down the line, it gets really hard to get that physical practice that you need to prepare for games … So we kind of mapped that out and hopefully he’s able to capture some of those padded practices.”
The injury occurred just seven months ago, making this a surprising development. Chicago re-signed veteran Braxton Jones to a one-year deal during the offseason and brought in former No. 10 overall pick Jedrick Wills as insurance in case Trapilo wasn’t ready. Those moves suggest even the Bears weren’t banking on this kind of recovery timeline. But if Trapilo is ready by Week 1 or shortly after, Chicago gets back a crucial piece of the offensive line that helped fuel last season’s breakout.
A second-round pick in 2025, Trapilo began his rookie season as a backup before earning the starting left tackle job late in the year — just before the injury. In 14 appearances, he posted an overall PFF grade of 69.9, ranking 37th among 89 qualified tackles, and allowed just three hits and two sacks all season. At 6-foot-8 and 312 pounds, the athletic tackle would be a major boost for Chicago if he’s back by the start of the regular season.