Can the Bears Expect Their 24-Year-Old Star Offensive Tackle to Return in 2026?
The Chicago Bears had one of the best offensive lines in the league last season. They’d become accustomed to struggling to find key players in the position group and to it being their biggest weakness on the entire team. Quarterback Caleb Williams rookie season saw him be sacked 68 times, the third-most in a single NFL season. Just a year later, general manager Ryan Poles was able to turn it around by acquiring some of the best offensive linemen in the league. Williams was only sacked 23 times in 2025, a massive improvement from the year before. One of the players acquired for the improved line was offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo, who was drafted in the second round as the 56th overall pick. While Trapilo showed plenty of promise, his season took a turn for the worse and potentially, his career.
The former Boston College standout suffered a ruptured/torn patellar tendon in the Wild Card Round against the Green Bay Packers. Trapilo required surgery, which has now left him sidelined for potentially the entire 2026 season. The offensive tackle played in 14 games with six starts, and earned a 69.9 PFF overall grade. This ranked him 36th among 89 offensive tackles. Trapilo’s future was looking bright in Chicago, with the chance to become a staple of the offensive line for years to come. Three months later, the status of Trapilo is still up in the air with more questions than answers. More recently, however, the Bears have provided some encouraging signs that he may be trending in the right direction, something that Bears fans have wanted to hear after months of negative updates.
Ryan Poles shared that Trapilo has been progressing and that he has no reason to believe that when he is healthy once again, he won’t return to the form he was in before the injury. The Bears are still receiving more clarification on their former second-rounder’s status, as the injury is one that can become severely complicated. As far as a return in 2026, the Bears shouldn’t be counting on him returning at any point in the season and should be more focused on getting a replacement ready to go. Their potential options include former Lions tackle Taylor Decker or a free agent like tackle Trent Brown. Both would serve as reliable replacements while their rookie focuses on getting healthy, and not force the Bears into a tough spot with protecting Williams. The offensive tackle position will be one to monitor in Chicago, as Trapilo will look to work his way back to getting on the field.
