Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar: Left tackle answer ‘to be determined’
INDIANAPOLIS — The Bears didn't expect to be addressing left tackle anytime soon after drafting Ozzy Trapilo in the second round last year, but his knee injury in the playoffs changed that drastically.
General manager Ryan Poles has said Trapilo will miss at least most of the upcoming season, which puts the position high on their list of priorities this offseason. The Bears certainly don’t want a repeat of last season, when they started with Braxton Jones, benched him for Theo Benedet, then benched Benedet for Trapilo.
Offensive line coach Dan Roushar said on an episode of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead’s podcast, The Set, that it’s “to be determined” whether the team has an in-house solution.
“I know what the left tackle position looks like in this league,” Roushar said in an episode released this week. “[Armstead is] the standard. That’s a rare player that comes along. But somebody has to play that position similar to that. It’s a faceless, nameless guy right now.
“Is that player in the building? There’s guys that have traits, but not consistent enough. ... So that’s to be determined.”
Premium positions like left tackle usually require teams to use premium resources, which Roushar acknowledged. He said finding a good enough player there requires “draft capital, or an asset we currently don’t have,” and added, “It’s most likely either through free agency or it’s here in the building.”
For now, not knowing who the Bears could get in free agency next month or in the draft in April, when they’re picking No. 25 in the first round, Roushar said, “We’re going to work with the guys we’ve got and we’re going to make it better.”
Jones, a fifth-round pick in 2022 who started 44 games over four seasons, is a pending free agent but unlikely to command big offers. Spotrac projected his market value as a two-year, $9.5 million contract.
Benedet, who was undrafted out of Canada in 2024, is an exclusive-rights free agent who can be brought back cheaply. Amegadjie, a 2024 third-round pick who has one career start, has two seasons left on his rookie contract.