Ozzy Trapilo played right tackle the last two seasons at Boston College. After practice, he’d stick around to work on the left side.
With the Bears, he’s playing left tackle and has a chance, depending on Braxton Jones’ health and effectiveness, to start there. During offseason practices, the rookie — drafted in the second round, 56th overall, in April — rotated at left tackle with Kiran Amegadjie, a third-round pick last year. Jones, who is recovering from ankle surgery, isn’t expected to be full-go at the start of training camp next month.
“It’s a really great opportunity,” Trapilo said Tuesday. “This is the perfect time for the coaches to do it — rotate guys in. . . . There’s no pads on or anything yet, so they’re really just doing their best to get guys looks, get a feeling for it all.”
Trapilo has had to adjust to the speed of the pro game, even in practice. But playing a new position has its advantages. He says he doesn’t go into a “flow state” like he would on the right side, which helps him develop new habits.
“That foreign side . . . you’re able to really hone in on the minor differences that these coaches want to see,” he said. “There’s definitely benefits in that.”
Running out of RBs?
The two most prominent veteran running backs left on the free-agent market have found homes — and not with the Bears. Former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins agreed to a one-year deal with the Broncos on Tuesday, one day after Nick Chubb joined the Texans.
The Bears considered drafting a running back — and might have, had the Patriots not picked up Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson one spot ahead of the Bears’ No. 39 selection.
The market has since dried up. Dobbins and Chubb were the only running backs left on Pro Football Focus’ list of best available players.
The Bears, however, maintain they like their group the way it is, with D’Andre Swift starting ahead of Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler and rookie Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round pick. Bears coach Ben Johnson singled out Monangai as one of the players who has impressed him the most this offseason.
Still not signed
The Bears signed five of their draft picks on May 8 — all but the three players they took in the second round. More than a month later, receiver Luther Burden III, defensive tackle Shemar Turner and Trapilo remain unsigned.
“That’s really a job for my agent. He keeps me in the loop,” Trapilo said. “There’s no tension or anything. The situation is pretty unique.”
Here’s why: Last month, the Texans gave receiver Jayden Higgins, the second pick of the second round, the NFL’s first fully guaranteed contract for a second-round pick. The Browns followed suit with linebacker Carson Schweisinger, whom they drafted one spot ahead of Higgins. No other draftee from the second round has signed yet as their agents push for a similar guaranteed salary structure.
The salary itself is codified by the collective-bargaining agreement.
Working vacation
Johnson plans to spend a lot of his players’ summer break at Halas Hall. Even when he was an assistant coach, he viewed it as a time to get ahead.
“I think you can get some creative juices flowing as you start studying some of the tapes from around the league and some other places, maybe college ball,” he said. “I’ve had a process that I’m committed to. I’ll be in and out of the office a good bit, and at the same time probably get away.”
Johnson’s family is moving to the area after staying back in Michigan since the Bears hired him in January.
