Hopes were springing eternal when the Chicago Bears took offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo in the second round of the 2025 draft.
At 6-foot-8 and 312 pounds, Trapilo has both size and intriguing athleticism, but things haven’t necessarily gone as planned so far. Early on, the Bears said the rookie OL would be in the mix for the starting left tackle job, competing against incumbent starter Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie and 2024 UDFA Theo Benedet.
But not long after training camp began, Trapilo stopped taking reps at LT and moved over to the right side. For now, Trapilo’s home is on the depth chart just behind right tackle Darnell Wright, while the left side has turned into Benedet’s domain after Jones’ uneven start and recent knee flare-up.
As the season wears down, more information is emerging about why Trapilo hasn’t played as much as initially expected. Dan Wiederer of The Athletic shared an update from Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar that explains a great deal.
What Chicago Bears OL Coach Dan Roushar Said About Why Rookie Ozzy Trapilo Isn’t Playing Much
GettyWhy isn’t Chicago Bears rookie OL Ozzy Trapilo playing much this year? OL coach Dan Roushar had some telling things to say.
Benedet has earned another start at left tackle after holding his own in back-to-back games, which has left Trapilo as the team’s backup swing tackle.
“Down deep, I think there was a comfort factor missing,” Roushar said about the rookie, per Wiederer. “And I think in the transition from college to the NFL, fundamentally, he had started to lose himself a little. With that, sometimes you become very reactionary rather than action-oriented — to your set spot, to throwing your hands, to striking. Those things started to dissipate. As it continued to go that way, we thought the best thing for him was to reset his mind, bring him back to the right side and see growth.”
“When he moved to right (tackle) — I thought he settled in and it looked very natural, his hand usage, his feet, but it looked like that when he started out at left (tackle) early. I think he just hit a rookie wall in the middle of camp where things just got all over the place,” Bears GM Ryan Poles said about Trapilo in September, via A to Z Sports. “He needed to settle in. … I think he just got out of wack a little bit midway through camp.”
Trapilo Has Plenty of Time to Learn & Grow in Year 1
Before arriving in Chicago, Trapilo was the rock of Boston College’s O-line. In 2024, he started 12 games at right tackle, earning first-team All-ACC honors.
Through seven weeks, the rookie lineman has taken 40 offensive snaps—about ten percent of Chicago’s total—along with 22 snaps on special teams. That limited workload is letting him get his feet wet and get more acclimated to the speed of the pro game. He has played 26 pass block snaps, allowing two QB hurries, per PFF.
Chicago spent the offseason stabilizing the offensive line by adding veterans like Joe Thuney and Drew Dalman, and both should be great mentors for Trapilo, who is growing more comfortable by the day.
“With Trapilo’s comfort back, with those 40 snaps in Vegas to build on, the Bears are pushing for consistency,” Wiederer wrote. “And still keeping him ready. Just in case.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bears Coach Reveals Why Rookie Ozzy Trapilo Isn’t Playing Much in 2025 appeared first on Heavy Sports.