Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles said that he expects to see rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo get some run at left tackle during the team’s offseason program, particularly was Braxton Jones works his way back from an ankle injury that ended his 2024 season early.
However, one executive believes that Trapilo will find his home with the Bears at his more natural spot on the right side, and a starting one at that.
That executive also praised Poles while admitting previous doubts.
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“I like what they have done, and I’ve been skeptical of the Bears in the past,” the anonymous executive said, per The Athletic’s Mike Sando wrote on May 2. ‘The sleeper in the bunch is that (Ozzy) Trapilo kid in the second round. Eventually, I think he will be their right tackle.
“I have to hand it to (GM Ryan) Poles. They have upgraded in a lot of ways this offseason.”
The No. 1 way that the Bears have upgraded upfront may be their optionality, including with Trapilo.
The 6-foot-8 lineman has lined up at every spot on the offensive line except for center, including spot reps at tight end. Trapilo has already said he is willing to do whatever is necessary to see the field for the Bears, and left tackle could be the quickest way.
“It goes back to alignment with our coaching staff. That’s a conversation we’ve been having, obviously, before uh the draft. And recently, after the draft, we’ve had some really good conversations about that, and we’re still working through it, Poles said on “Kap & J. Hood” on May 1. “We want to see what we have in the young rookie, with Ozzy, in terms of what that looks like at left. We still want to see Braxton returning from his injury as well as Kiran [Amegadjie]. So there’s a lot of options.”
Moving Trapilo into the starting lineup would likely follow, or even lead to, other dominoes falling for the Bears.
Bears Could Try Darnell Wright at LT
The elephant in the room could be Poles’ recent comments about starting right tackle Darnell Wright, whom the Bears selected 10th overall in 2023.
Poles acknowledged they liked Wright’s ability to play both sides before the cycle.
“I think that’s a conversation,” Poles told reporters on April 22. “We’ll see how everything goes. He clearly has the ability to play left and right. We saw that in college. That was part of the value in taking Darnell. So if he had to play left, I think he can play left. And, obviously, I think we’re all excited about his stuff to go right.”
Notably, Jones is in the final year of his contract and has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons after starting every game as a fifth-round rookie.
Wright sliding over would open up a spot on the right side that Trapilo could fill.