LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — The Bears revamped their offense this offseason with the hiring of head coach Ben Johnson, the acquisition of three new starters for the interior offensive line and the selections of tight end Colston Loveland and receiver Luther Burden III with their top two draft picks.
A key question still looms at left tackle, where a positional battle could be on tap. After quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times as a rookie in 2024, the Bears recognize the need to improve their pass protection.
The Bears are planning to re-evaluate the left tackle position – and with that perhaps right tackle as well – during the course of this offseason. Braxton Jones, a three-year starter at left tackle, is recovering after having ankle surgery in late December. The hope is that he'll be ready to return for training camp, which starts in late July.
It’s also possible the Bears could shift starting right tackle Darnell Wright to the left side, which would then shift the focus back to the right side. The Bears will carefully consider that possibility, and they have time to experiment in the offseason program.
“Yeah, that will be an interesting one,” Johnson said. “We'll huddle back up as a staff after the weekend and figure out how we want to assign guys – right side, left side, going forward. Obviously, with Braxton being out for the spring time, there are a lot of reps to be had. And we feel like we're going to have some big opportunities for a number of guys to get better this spring.”
One of the players set to have an opportunity this spring is rookie offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo, whom the Bears selected at No. 56 overall in the second round of the NFL Draft.
Trapilo was a three-year starter at right tackle for Boston College and earned first-team All-ACC honors last season. He projects to have the flexibility to play both tackle positions, though the Bears are intent on working Trapilo at right tackle to begin.
The 23-year-old Trapilo earned praise from Bears general manager Ryan Poles as a “technician” at Boston College.
“Being an offensive lineman, you definitely have to play with violence,” Trapilo said. “But it’s a type that of violence that’s poised and under control.
“That’s really the epitome of line play.”
The Bears are also eager to see second-year tackle Kiran Amegadjie in action this offseason. A third-round pick last season, Amegadjie missed the entire offseason program and much of training camp in 2024 while recovering from a quad injury.
While Amegadjie was healthy during the regular season, those practice reps are different from offseason reps. He missed his initial chance to get acclimated to the NFL game, and it showed during his first professional start, when he struggled considerably in the Bears' loss to the Vikings in December.
The 26-year-old Jones is still held in high regard by the Bears. He has played at a starter’s level during his three NFL seasons, paying dividends on the fifth-round pick the Bears used on him in 2022.
Once Jones returns to full health, the Bears will have three players competing for one tackle spot – and a potentially significant shift in store for Wright.
The Bears will hold their first OTAs in late May, when we'll learn more about the team's offensive line plan.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.