Chicago Bears’ Ozzy Trapilo explains unreal injury return timeline

After rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Divisional Round, Ozzy Trapilo’s 2026 season was already written off. The Bears brought back Braxton Jones in free agency in part due to the injury.

But suddenly, Trapilo made his return much quicker than expected. He avoided all injury lists and opened the season on the 53-man roster. While he has been inactive the first two games, the left tackle has now returned to full practice. Trapilo wasn’t even listed on Thursday’s injury report.

Whether or not the tackle plays in Week 3 is yet to be seen. But he has beat all imaginable timelines from when he first suffered his injury. It won’t be long before Trapilo is back on the gridiron.

The amount of effort that went into his return is unquantifiable. But Trapilo is nearly ready to prove it was all worth it.

Chicago Bears’ Ozzy Trapilo no longer limited 

Head coach Ben Johnson wanted to see Trapilo go through some padded practices before officially declaring him back. Now fully on the field, the tackle is getting that opportunity. Each successful rep inches him closer to suiting up on gameday, via Kevin Powell of WGN Radio 720.

“There’s a million people I could thank,” Trapilo said. “All the guys in the training room really made my job easy. I just showed up. Since the day I had surgery, I showed up, sat on the table, had a plan for that week, the following week and continuously working to get to where I am today.”

“That was kind of the mindset the whole time,” the tackle said of an early return. “There was a million things about the timeline of this thing. I didn’t want to fall into that. They were great in there. The strength staff was incredible working with me. Realizing, if you’re a little bit ahead, we don’t have to hold you back. Keep pushing to work with me and where I’m at.”

Ozzy Trapilo on his quick recovery: pic.twitter.com/9CMn6WWyYA

— Kevin Powell (@kpowell720) September 23, 2026

When Trapilo does return, the Bears will have a decision to make. Jones has been holding the fort down at left tackle and Johnson has been impressed. But Trapilo had surpassed him for the starting role prior to his injury. Does Jones remain the LT or is he immediately replaced?

Before that decision is made, the Bears must first have Trapilo active. Now back at practice, that could happen as early as Week 3.

The post Chicago Bears’ Ozzy Trapilo explains unreal injury return timeline appeared first on ChiCitySports.