What Bears Activating Ozzy Trapilo Off PUP List Means For Left Tackle Competition

The Chicago Bears have activated Ozzy Trapiilo off the physically unable to perform list. Here's what it means for the left tackle position.

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears have taken a huge step toward getting left tackle Ozzy Trapilo back from injury.

The Bears announced on Sunday that they are activating Trapilo off the physically unable to perform list, which clears the way for him to return to practice.

While Bears general manager Ryan Poles had previously stated that Trapilo could be back sooner than expected, this is still a stunning turn of events for a player who is only seven months removed from a torn patellar tendon suffered on January 10.

Some players need up to a full year to recover from such an injury, so Trapilo's return comes on the shorter end of the timeline.

Here's what it means for the left tackle competition.

What Trapilo's return means for left tackle competition

Trapilo looked to be the left tackle of the future after taking over the job in 2025, so we can only assume he will be placed right back into the job once he's fully ready to go.

We would not expect Trapilo to jump right back into a normal workload right away, but he does have nearly one full month before the season starts for the Bears on Sept. 13, so there's ample time for Trapilo to ramp up and be ready for Week 1.

The only concern is that players sometimes aren't themselves in the first year back from such an injury, so that will be something to watch once Trapilo is on the field.

This is rough news for Braxton Jones, who was clearly the favorite to win the left tackle job while Trapilo was on the shelf.

Now, Jones figures to serve as Trapilo's backup, which is a tough blow for a player who is in a contract year and was looking for a rebound campaign en route to earning a nice payday in free agency next offseason.

This also pushes both Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills down a spot on the depth chart and puts both in more danger of missing the cut.

Neither player was particularly good in the Bears' preseason opener on Saturday, but we gave the slight edge to Amegadjie because he didn't give up a sack.

One other impact of Trapilo's earlier-than-expected return is the Bears' depth situation upfront improves.