March 2, 2026, 6:25 a.m. CT

The Chicago Bears face a significant gap at left tackle for the 2026 season.Starting left tackle Ozzy Trapilo is expected to miss most of the season due to a severe knee injury.Offensive line coach Dan Roushar stated the team’s future starter at the position may not currently be on the roster.

The Chicago Bears overhauled their interior offensive line last offseason with the acquisitions of guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson via trade, and center Drew Dalman in free agency, joining ascending right tackle Darnell Wright. But, much like last offseason, left tackle remains a big question mark heading into the 2026 season.

Ozzy Trapilo, who solidified himself as the starting left tackle later in the season, suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the wild-card playoffs. General manager Ryan Poles said Trapilo will miss most of the 2026 season, leaving Chicago with a big hole at left tackle to fill.

The Bears have four spots solidified along the line, but left tackle continues to elude them. Recently, offensive line coach Dan Roushar opened up about the left tackle hole, where he got brutally honest about the three left tackles from last season — Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet and Trapilo.

“I’m transparent. I met with all three guys that played left tackle for us this past year,” Roushar said on The Set with Terron Armstead. “…I told all three of them this: I know what the left tackle position looks like in this league. You’re the standard. That’s a rare player that comes along. But somebody has to play that position similar to that. So it’s a faceless, nameless guy right now. It has to become the way we play at left tackle similar to what’s being done at right tackle (Wright).”

The Bears have several holes to fill on the roster, mostly on defense, but left tackle is an important one. While there are some contenders to fill in for Trapilo at left tackle currently on the roster (Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie) or set to hit free agency (Jones), Roushar made it clear their starter might not be on the roster right now.

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“Is that player in the building? I think there’s guys that have traits but not consistent enough; not the way we want it done consistently,” Roushar said. “So that’s to be determined. You can address that in free agency, you can address that in the draft. But to find your play or Darnell’s play, that requires, in my opinion, you took a couple of years. But it takes probably draft capital or an asset we currently don’t have. It’s probably most likely either through free agency or it’s here in the building. My opinion is that, it’s anywhere outside of here, it’s here. So that’s how we’re going to approach it. We’re going to work with the guys we’ve got, and we’re going to make it better.”

Chicago will have options in-house and through free agency or the 2026 NFL Draft. If they believe Trapilo can be the long-term solution, they could very well look to a short-term solution. But if there’s an opportunity to upgrade at the position, Poles shouldn’t think twice.

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