The Chicago Bears received some extraordinarily good news when they were able to activate second year left tackle Ozzy Trapilo from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Trapilo ruptured his patellar tendon in the Wild Card win against the Green Bay Packers back in January. Normally, the timeline for players to return to practice â let alone be game-ready â is at minimum nine months and often closer to one year.
Naturally, Chicago were expecting that Trapilo would miss most of, if not all of the 2026 season. As such, the Bears bought back former starter Braxton Jones on a 1 year, $5 million deal to be their bridge LT for the majority of the season, and also added ex-1st round pick for the Cleveland Browns Jedrick Wills Jr. as further insurance.
But it appears instead that Trapilo may instead be the bookend tackle opposite All-Pro Darnell Wright for the lion’s share of the season, having impressed his rookie year as a second round pick out of Boston College.
Speaking on Tuesday, head coach Ben Johnson shared his thoughts on the situation and Trapilo’s path looking ahead towards the start of the season.
“He’s another one we’ve talked a lot about, just having a plan in place. The best thing for him, ramping him up. Obviously physically we feel really good about where he’s at, otherwise we wouldn’t have bought him off PUP. Now it’s a race to see how quickly we can rebuild the confidence.” Johnson said to the media on Aug. 18.
“It’s going to look different for him than it is anybody else, just in terms of how we continue to integrate him into drills, team drills, things like that. But we felt like this is a good opportunity over the next course of training camp with the padded practices that we’re going to have that gives him a chance to build that confidence back up again.”
When Will the Bears see Ozzy Trapilo Play Again?
The 24 year old’s exact injury timeline has not been shared with the public, and neither has specific information about whether the Bears expect him to return for the season opener on September 13 at the Carolina Panthers.
Johnson specifically used the term “race” with regards to Trapilo’s journey, implying that getting Trapilo to the starting lineup in time for the start of the season is no foregone conclusion, if it is on the table at all.
The lack of information concerning his potential return date also points to the fact that much of it could well be contingent on how quickly he is able to regain both his confidence and his bearings as he re-acclimates to what is without question one of the toughest and highest-pressure positions in the sport.
Barring an injury setback, it is likely that Trapilo will be available by the end of September, as players are seldom activated when they are much more than a full month away from being game-fit.
But with complicated ligament and tendon injuries, there are rarely any certainties. Irregardless, for Bears fans and staff, this is a huge and unexpected boon as we approach the start of the regular season.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Ben Johnson Shares Update on Ozzy Trapilo After Activation From PUP appeared first on HEAVY.