Chicago Bears have clear frontrunner for starting left tackle job

The Chicago Bears only have one job up for grabs on the offensive line this offseason–left tackle.

The Bears have the interior portion of the offensive line set with guards Jonah Jackson, Joe Thuney, and center Drew Dalman. Darnell Wright will remain a starter in 2025 and appears set to stay at right tackle.

There is a three-way battle for left tackle between Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie, and rookie Ozzy Trapilo. Jones was last year’s starter, but he has a disadvantage this offseason as he sits out of OTAs while he rehabs from a season-ending ankle injury. He’s expected to be limited in training camp.

The Chicago Bears have a rookie trending toward starting in Week 1

During an appearance on 670 The Score’s “Mully & Hugh Show” on Thursday, Clay Harbor gave his assessment on how Trapilo looks versus Amegadjie. Harbor thinks Trapilo, a six-foot-eight, 316-pound athlete looks better suited for the starting left tackle job.

“It’s interesting because with Kiran, he’s this big, long, athletic guy,” Harbor said. “He’s got 36 and a half-inch arms, and he is twitchy, but he’s clunky in his sets. To me, it feels like he’s a little off balance. His flexibility isn’t what it needs to be. And I’ll be honest, Ozzy looks better. He looks more under control.

“He looks more fluid in his sets, and he just looks more unbalanced. And we think about it, he’s honestly got more experience than Kieran Amegadjie does. Kiran was hurt in college… This is basically his rookie season. So Ozzy looks more like a veteran even than Amagaji does.”

Ozzy Trapilo has to prove it with full pads in training camp

How Trapilo looks when the full pads come on could be a different story. As Harbor noted, Wright had a rough practice on Wednesday, giving up two sacks to defensive end Dominique Robinson. (That’s less of a worry in May.)

The Bears are giving Trapilo an early chance to work with the first team. Amegadjie worked with the first team last week.

Trapilo received all reps with the first unit on Wednesday. It’s early, but he’s clearly trending towards being the starting left tackle for Week 1.

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