Chicago Bears have Ozzy Trapilo hope after passed physical

Bears head coach Ben Johnson seemed unpleased with the play he saw at left tackle and the offensive line in general against the Browns. He noted his quarterbacks were hit more often than he would have liked. The team struggled to run block against a stout Browns front seven.

“Then running game-wise was a little bit spotty as well. So, different style,” Johnson said. “The defense certainly attributes to that. Their front is coming off the ball, and they make it very difficult for one-on-one blocks and you have to be very specific with your angles and all that.

“And so, there’s a back and forth there in the running game as well. So, hard to say a whole lot about left tackle quite yet.”

Having Trapilo return would be ideal for the Bears when they play the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Trapilo has a few weeks to ramp up his activity before the regular season. It remains to be seen if he can participate in joint practice this week or next week or in any of the final two preseason games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans.

Still, the Bears do not want to rush the 2025 second-round pick back too early. While the timeline of his recovery has been remarkable, it could take Trapilo some time to be as effective as he was before the injury in January.