The Chicago Bears may need to monitor a new pair of injuries in their offensive line room following Saturday’s fourth practice of 2025 training camp.
According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, the Bears had both second-year offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and guard/center Doug Kramer Jr. exit practice early with injuries. It is unclear what their injury statuses will be when the Bears practice next on Monday.
“It was Kiran Amegadjie’s day with the first-team offensive line, but the left tackle left practice early with an apparent injury,” Cronin wrote Saturday. “Backup center Doug Kramer slammed his helmet after injuring his left leg.”
Amegadjie — a 2024 third-round pick — has rotated with second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo and three-year starter Braxton Jones with the first-team offensive line over the first four days of unpadded practices. If the issue that knocked him out of Saturday’s practice early leads to him missing time, though, it could cause him to fall behind.
Kiran Amegadjie Has Most to Prove Among Bears OTs
It bodes well for Amegadjie that the Bears have given him first-team reps on multiple occasions over their first four days of camp, even though Jones’ ramp-up period has certainly played a role in him taking snaps early and often with the starting unit.
After a rough 2024 rookie season, though, Amegadjie may have the most to prove out of the four offensive tackles who are currently projected to make the Bears’ 53-man roster.
Amegadjie had a brutal start to his NFL career. He missed the Bears’ entire offseason program and more than half of training camp as a rookie as he rehabilitated from a season-ending quad injury that prematurely ended his final season at Yale. He then only played 69 snaps over the Bears’ first 12 games, spending eight on the sidelines.
While Amegadjie’s injury bought him some understanding from the fans, his first career start at left tackle against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 flushed it down the drain.
In the first quarter, Amegadjie allowed a brutal sack in which Jonathan Greenard beat him around the edge with a speed rush and blasted quarterback Caleb Williams. While he did not allow another sack, he continued to struggle mightily while playing on every snap and received a miserable performance grade (39.5) from Pro Football Focus.
Amegadjie did not play another snap in the Bears’ three remaining games, forcing him to spend the offseason with the cloud of his first career start hanging over him — hence why he has more to prove than Trapilo, Jones or right tackle Darnell Wright in 2025.
Will Ozzy Trapilo Win Bears’ Starting LT Job in 2025?
Amegadjie has the most to prove out of the Bears’ non-roster-fringe offensive tackles, but Trapilo — the 56th pick — might have the best shot at winning the left tackle job.
Trapilo ran with the Bears’ first-team offensive line in both Wednesday’s and Friday’s practices and has already begun to impress his coaches. Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle told reporters last week that Trapilo is “a rookie but feels like a veteran” in terms of his work ethic and the way he carries himself on the practice field.
That’s exactly what you want in a rookie blindside blocker who could start Day 1.
The biggest obstacle for Trapilo is Jones. While the latter is still ramping up at practice, he should return soon and has three seasons of starting experience to give him an edge. Jones has also been a quality left tackle for the Bears in his career, so there is no need to push him out the door if Trapilo does not decisively outperform him during camp.
What works to Trapilo’s advantage, though, is Jones’ contract situation.
Jones will need a new contract after the 2025 season, and the Bears seem unlikely to pay him at this stage after investing Day 2 picks into Amegadjie and Trapilo over the past two NFL drafts. Perhaps Jones wins the job and persuades the Bears throughout the 2025 season that he deserves a long-term contract. But if they already sense they will not extend him, then prioritizing Trapilo’s development makes the most sense.
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