The Chicago Bears were the first team to begin their mandatory minicamp this week, and already, there are some ripple effects slowly forming.
After just one practice, Bears rookie offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo is looking like a guy who will, indeed, unseat Braxton Jones as the starter on the left side.
Former NFL player and current analyst Clay Harbor spoke after this opening practice and praised Trapilo in a massive way."
"He just has this aura out there that he is just not confused like a rookie. He's looking like a veteran already," Harbor said.
The vibes are already trending toward Ozzy Trapilo stealing the starting left tackle job
Since the Bears drafted Trapilo in the second round back in April, fans had an inkling that the writing may be on the wall for Braxton Jones going into his contract year. What's a bit unfair to Jones, however, is the fact that he's still recovering from ankle surgery at the moment.
We have seen stories like this play out before, though.
A veteran gets injured. A younger player comes in and plays well, earning the role for the meantime -- except the "meantime" turns into a permanent spot for the younger player.
Jones was a fine offensive tackle, but he wasn't a franchise cornerstone. Why else would Ryan Poles have drafted a Day 2 offensive tackle in back-to-back years?
Everything we have heard, thus far, about Trapilo has led us to believe he is going to end up with the starting job. That's not hard to believe right now, though, with Jones still sidelined.
Whether or not Kiran Amegadjie pans out as a reserve piece still remains to be seen, but there have been no indications of Amegadjie being capable of taking over the lead role. Meanwhile, Trapilo has been impressing.
It is only OTAs and minicamp that we're talking about, but this is where early impressions can turn into lasting ones. Trapilo has done everything he can to put his best foot forward, and it's likely to end with him taking Jones' job, for good.