The competition at the left tackle position will be closely monitored until Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson names a starter.
After the first day of mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall on Tuesday, the competition between second-year player Kiran Amegadjie and rookie Ozzy Trapilo is still ongoing.
“Hard to jump to any conclusions just yet, especially at that position, where you really can’t be judged until you got pads on,” Johnson said. “And so both guys are taking turns and they’re making the most of their opportunities. I think the head’s still spinning for almost everybody on offense but certainly in the O-line room. We got a lot of new things we’re throwing at them. Coach Roushar and Coach Devan and Coach Cable, they’re doing fantastic jobs coaching them up.
Ozzy Trapilo is making a quick impression on Ben Johnson
"And they’re on them constantly throughout practice. The cool thing to see is Ozzy, for a guy who’s a young player, he’s polished in terms of the mental aspect of the game. We’re looking to key up some things, quicken up his steps, his identification process, and Kiran’s done a nice job just for the little bit that we’ve had him as well, just the growth prospects, so far so good.”
Johnson has already stated that jobs are not earned in the spring, and this current competition still doesn’t include the Bears’ starting left tackle from the previous three seasons, Braxton Jones. He hasn’t participated in the on-field workouts or practices since his season-ending injury last December.
Until Jones returns from injury, the best anyone can do to track who is “winning” the left tackle job is by noting who takes the first-team reps in these early portions of the NFL calendar. According to reports, Amegadjie was the man in Tuesday’s practice. In last Wednesday’s OTA practice, Trapilo played with the first unit.
The Bears will have a better indication of who is truly taking the job once full pads are on and the physicality of practice intensifies. There’s still time before the team gets to that point, but Johnson still will know what he is looking for in the left tackle spot.
“I always go back to me, the No. 1 job of an offensive tackle, doesn’t matter right or left, is to pass protect,” Johnson said. “And so you need to be able to block their best pass rusher one-on-one. To me, that’s the No. 1 job, and everything we can get out of them in the run game will be gravy on top of it. But we've got to find out who the best pass protector is, the most consistent pass protector is, and that’s for all five guys up front.”