The Chicago Bears are staying noncommittal about whether rookie Ozzy Trapilo will remain their starting left tackle when Theo Benedet is healthy again, but there is no question that he impressed Ben Johnson in his first career start.
Trapilo started at left tackle in place of the injured Benedet in Week 12’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and had a dominant performance protecting quarterback Caleb Williams‘ blindside, yielding only one pressure while playing all 65 snaps on offense.
Naturally, the strong performance from Trapilo — a 2025 second-round pick — raised questions about whether he had done enough to keep the left tackle job in Chicago.
To that particular question, Johnson only offered a sly smile and a “we will see.”
Johnson, however, also credited Trapilo as a “big reason” why the Bears pulled off their 31-28 victory over the Steelers for his step-up performance in one of the toughest roles. And when asked if Trapilo had done something recently to inspire confidence that he could handle the starter role, Johnson spoke candidly about his development.
Ben Johnson: Ozzy Trapilo is ‘Not a Rookie Anymore’
Johnson can’t recall a precise moment or reason why Trapilo seemed to turn a corner in his development in the last month, but he said the difference in his rookie is palpable in the building — and has resulted in the staff viewing Trapilo through a different lens.
“I don’t know what it was over probably the last four weeks or so, but it is almost like things have slowed down for him,” Johnson told reporters during his news conference on November 26. “I feel it in the building with him, where there’s a little less stepping on eggshells and he’s coming out of his shell a bit. He’s not a rookie anymore as far as I’m concerned. It kind of feels that way just being around him, personality-wise. And when that opens up, your play — you just kind of cut it loose and play ball.
“I’ve felt that from him, and I don’t know why that is the case or anything like that, but he’s been, I’m not saying a different guy, but it’s like, OK, he knows he belongs. He knows he belongs. I think he’s got confidence, and it doesn’t really matter right side or left side, I think he knows he can be a very productive player at this level.”
That’s a considerable development for Trapilo, considering how things unfolded early.
Can Ozzy Trapilo Develop Into Long-Term Starting LT?
Trapilo had competed for the starting left tackle job with veteran Braxton Jones and Benedet during training camp, but he fell out of the mix midway through the summer, at which point the Bears moved him back to the right tackle role he had held in college.
Ultimately, he entered the season as their fourth offensive tackle behind starters Jones and Darnell Wright. His place in the pecking order also seemed to become more defined when the Bears benched Jones from the lineup in the middle of Week 4’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders and promoted Benedet — a 2024 undrafted signing — to the job.
Fortunately for Trapilo, the NFL is fickle, and opportunity knocked for him once again in Week 12’s matchup with the Steelers. Now that he had stepped up to the plate and convinced Johnson that he could be “a very productive player at this level,” though, how good are his chances of developing into a long-term option for the Bears at left tackle?
That depends on how Trapilo answers the call the next time the Bears need him, which could be as soon as Week 13 when they meet the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday. Benedet could be cleared after returning to full participation at practices this week, but as to whether he will reclaim the left tackle job from Trapilo, Johnson said it best:
“We will see.”
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