A season-ending injury forces the Bears to scramble for offensive line solutions. Who will protect the quarterback next season?
The Chicago Bears had a historic comeback against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card.
The Bears were down 21-6 entering the fourth quarter, and won 31-27. However, the win didn't come without a significant loss along the way.
Late in the game, Bears' left tackle Ozzy Trapilo suffered a patellar injury that was later revealed to be season-ending. Earlier in the game, Chicago also lost T.J. Edwards to a fractured fibula, ending his season.
Trapilo won the starting job at left tackle after playing over Theo Benedet in Week 12, who missed the game due to injury. Trapilo did well enough to secure his spot there for the remainder of the season.
There is one problem that the Bears will now have to deal with, however. With Trapilo's injury coming this late in the 2025 season, it will be quite some time until he's able to play again.
General Manager Ryan Poles recently revealed Trapilo's timetable during the end-of-season media availability. Poles shared that Trapilo won't be back until late into the 2026 season.
"Yeah, that's part of our job," Poles said. "Really unfortunate because I thought he was coming along. I was looking forward to getting his offseason. I don't have a specific timetable. I'm sure it'll be somewhere, you know, deep into next year for the injury. So, had a good conversation with him. He knows this is part of his journey he's going to have to overcome."
The Bears will have some decisions to make in the offseason about left tackle. The team just recently had Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones become free agents.
Jones started the year at left tackle before being benched in favor of Benedet.
Even if Chicago chooses to bring both of them back, it may also want to bring in a veteran offensive tackle to fill the hole left by Trapilo on the offensive line.
The move could even be short-term, just as a temporary fix, considering how good Trapilo was when healthy.
Trapilo was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Boston College. He played in 14 games, starting six.
The timing of this injury is really unfortunate for the rookie, who was really hitting his stride.
Sadly, this is the reality of the NFL. It'll be next man up for the Bears, as their starting left tackle is going to be out for a considerable amount of time.
Poles and the Bears have some decisions to make.