Trapilo, Bears, Jones, Steelers, Simmons, Chiefs, Packers, Belton, 49ers

The Bears received encouraging injury news recently, with Ozzy Trapilo coming off the active/PUP list and getting in more than a week’s worth of practices. It will take more time for the second-year tackle to recover from the patellar tendon tear he suffered in January, however. The 2025 second-round pick will need at least a few more weeks’ worth of practice before the Bears will feel comfortable moving him back to their starting LT spot, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley notes. Though, Trapilo has come a long way; the Bears had been concerned at one offseason juncture he would miss all of 2026.

Trapilo went down with the patellar tendon tear hours after Panthers LT Ikem Ekwonu suffered the same injury in the wild-card round. Ekwonu is not yet off Carolina’s active/PUP list. The Panthers have a clear plan while Ekwonu recovers, having signed Rasheed Walker from the Packers. The Bears have not settled their Trapilo contingency plan yet. Ben Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin) the team is not 100% sold on who will be in the starting lineup against Carolina in Week 1.

Braxton Jones held this position for most of his rookie contract, before being benched midway through last year. The re-signed tackle entered training camp as the favorite, but he has not won the job over Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills yet. That said, Finley places Jones and Benedet as safely on Chicago’s 53-man roster while classifying Amegadjie and Willis as having work to do. Amegadjie is a 2024 third-round pick who spent most of last season on IR, while Wills was a five-year LT starter in Cleveland before a knee injury led to him being out of football last season.

Here is the latest on O-line situations entering cutdown weekend:

• On the subject of tackles rehabbing injuries, Broderick Jones still has work to do as well. The fourth-year Steelers blocker is not yet 100% recovered from spinal fusion surgery. The former first-round pick, who moved from right tackle to left tackle to start last season, has not fully regained his strength or technique yet, per ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor. He has played during the preseason, however, having started Pittsburgh’s exhibition finale at RT. Dylan Cook opened the game at LT, but converted RT Troy Fautanu is positioned to man that post when the season starts. First-rounder Max Iheanachor also made his preseason debut Thursday, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski indicates Jones and Iheanachor are RT options in addition to Cook. The Steelers giving Cook extensive LT time may well point to a swing role, with either Jones or Iheanachor taking over as the RT starter.
• An mid-camp assessment of the 49ers‘ left guard job had Robert Jones in the lead, but rookie Carver Willis appears to have surpassed the veteran. Kyle Shanahan said (via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows) Willis is “making a push” for the LG job, and ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner adds Willis looks like the clubhouse leader for the role. The 49ers chose Willis in the fourth round out of Washington. San Francisco is converting Willis to guard after stints at right and left tackle, respectively, at Kansas State and Washington. He would be the second rookie to win a 49ers guard job in three years, following 2024 third-rounder Dominick Puni.
• Entering Packers camp as the expected right guard starter, Anthony Belton has lost a firm grip on this job. Belton’s stock has dropped considerably this summer, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, who notes the 2025 second-rounder has been working as the backup RT as of late. Belton made seven starts as a rookie, taking over the RG gig midseason. While the Packers have been using 2024 fifth-round pick Jacob Monk as their RG first-stringer as of late, OC Adam Stenavich said (via Schneidman) Belton remains in the competition and is not moving to tackle permanently. Fifth-round rookie Jager Burton is also seeing first-string guard work, Schneidman adds.
• Josh Simmons entered the NFL coming off an injury-marred Ohio State finale, and he ended his rookie season on IR. Showing promise when available, the 2025 first-round pick is battling another health issue. The top Chiefs LT is undergoing tests on his injured back, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. With Jaylon Moore battling rookie UDFA Kahlil Benson for the RT job, the latter could end up in the lineup by default if Moore needs to fill in for Simmons again.