Late in January's Wild Card Round win over the rival Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears' plans at left tackle changed. Ozzy Trapilo suffered a ruptured patellar tendon, and he is expected to miss most of the 2026 season.
To cover for Trapilo's absence, the Bears re-signed Braxton Jones and signed former first-round pick Jedrick Wills. The two are set to compete for the starting job, with Theo Benedet in the background as a potential option. For now, albeit fairly tentatively given the nature of his injury, Trapilo is still considered the long-term guy to protect Caleb Williams' blindside.
At this point, with few (if any) available options who make sense, the Bears' starting left tackle for the coming season is probably already on the roster. It's entirely possible Jones and Wills, or even Benedet, start games there.
Bears urged (again) to make move the ship has seemingly sailed on
In recommending one move each NFL team should still make after the draft, Eva Geitheim of SI.com went back to an old well for the Bears.
"After departing the Lions earlier this offseason, OT Taylor Decker remains unsigned. Decker already has experience playing under head coach Ben Johnson from their time together in Detroit, and could ensure the Bears have depth at tackle as Ozzy Trapilo will miss most of the 2026 season after rupturing his patellar tendon, and Braxton Jones steps in for him."
The history Decker has with Ben Johnson remains the tie that theorectically binds the veteran left tackle to the Bears. But after interviewing him in early April, Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network shared where Decker was on the idea of signing with certain teams.
“I will tell you that he’s pretty anti-playing for the Bears or Packers. That’s the Lions background in him. I know Ben Johnson did it and that was the right situation for him, but Taylor feels kind of dirty about the idea. It just isn’t interesting to him."
As Decker's options have naturally narrowed, maybe his thinking about playing for former NFC North rivals has changed. Rogers also shared how he could see Decker choosing not to play if the right situation doesn't surface.
"I could see him joining a team mid-season, the further he gets away from football and games being played, injuries happening and the right offer occurs. I could also see him not playing.”
The Bears, with the tie to Johnson and a need they had/have at left tackle, seem to be the perfect situation for Decker. But he doesn't want to sign with the rivals of his former team, perhaps to the detriment of continuing a career he may not even truly want to continue.
It also seems, after the Lions wanted him to take a pay cut and he asked for his release, Decker has generally miscalculated what he can get on the open market.
Read more: Bears insider offers sobering analogy for state of the defensive line situation
One foot out the door, seemingly, toward retirement. Not wanting to play for another NFC North team. Financial expectations which seem to not have changed. Add it all together, and you have Decker no longer being a fit for the Bears unless something changes on his end.
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