The Chicago Bears had to make a bunch of difficult decisions to get the team down to 53 players. They are ready for the 2025 season to get underway, and despite making the initial roster, there's still room for growth for several players on the team.
At left tackle, there was an open competition between Ozzy Trapilo, Braxton Jones, and Kiran Amegadjie. While it seemed like Trapilo was taking the lead in the battle earlier this summer but things took a turn.
General manager Ryan Poles believes Trapilo hit a rookie wall when moving over to the left side. So the team decided to put him back at his natural position of right tackle and saw him settle in. Granted, he's still a rookie, Trapilo has his work cut out for him.
Bears OT Ozzy Trapilo Has Work to Do
At different portions of the offseason, Trapilo has been getting first-team reps at LT, and it appeared he was going to run away with the job. Instead, his play slipped a little bit, and the preseason shone a light on that. According to PFF, Trapilo had a 63.1 overall grade, 60.7 pass-blocking grade, and a 61.5 run-blocking grade in 105 total snaps.
While these numbers aren't terrible, there's certainly room for growth. It looks like Jones will be Chicago's starter at LT to kick off the season, and Trapilo will be in a depth role for 2025. The Bears used a second-round pick on Trapilo for a reason. They believe in his skillset, and he came out hot.
It's not a shocker that Poles said Trapilo hit a rookie wall. Making the jump from college football to the NFL is a huge leap. The speed, physicality, and detailing are wildly different than college, which could lead to more growing pains.
That seemed to be the case with the Boston College product, and he has some work to do over the next few weeks. The Bears want to see him improve instead of taking a step back. He's going to be on the team in 2025, but it's about getting better at this point.