The shine of an exciting comeback victory for the Chicago Bears was diminished quickly by a brutal injury to offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo. He suffered a knee injury very late in the game, which was quickly revealed to be a patellar tendon injury that will sideline him for a little while.
Despite the severity of his injury, Trapilo saved the Bears a critical timeout as they completed their comeback by being able to limp off the field. His emergence as the potential answer for the Bears at left tackle will now be put on pause over the remainder of the season, and as we look toward next season.
The more immediate issue is who will replace Trapilo protecting Caleb Williams' blindside in the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams, and beyond should the Bears advance.
As part of their official announcement placing Trapilo (and linebacker T.J. Edwards) on IR this week, the Bears activated offensive tackle Braxton Jones from IR. So the Bears' former starter at left tackle is a potential option to replace Trapilo.
Bears' insider reveals the most likely plan at left tackle vs. Rams
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune made his regular appearance on 670 The Score's "Mully and Haugh Thursday morning to preview Sunday night's game against the Rams. Co-host David Haugh asked Biggs about Jones' role.
"With Braxton Jones, he's the 'break glass in case of emergency guy, here", Biggs said..."You see a smattering of that six offensive lineman set, they've done it at times..Like when Theo (Benedet) was starting at left tackle and Ozzy was the sixth guy, he (only) got two of three snaps maybe."
"Braxton's gotta be ready for more that though, because he's gonna be the person they turn to, if something were to happen to Theo in this ballgame. So hopefully, he can easily handle a role where he's out there doing a little bit. But this is gonna be his second practice since October, today (Thursday)? And hopefully, physically, he's feeling pretty good."
After Jones was benched in Week 4 and then placed on IR with a knee injury, Benedet made seven starts at left tackle. His level of play left something to be desired overall, and then an injury of his own opened the door for Trapilo to take over. The rest has been history, with Benedet only seeing notable action in Week 18 since.
But as Biggs said, Jones is coming off nearly three months out, and he'll have at most three practices under his belt before a playoff game. Against a Rams' defensive front that dials up the heat on opposing quarterbacks, needing time to shake off any rust is not an option.
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So (as expected) it will be Benedet replacing Trapilo in the playoff game, with Jones serving as the third offensive tackle in jumbo packages and the backup option at left tackle if needed. At this point in the season, it can certainly be a lot worse than having someone with Jones' experience as the backup option at left tackle.