Ryan Poles’ Subtle Comment Reveals Bears’ Deepening Concerns At Left Tackle
So far, the bulk of the Chicago Bears‘ resources have gone towards shoring up the defense. Their three biggest contracts in free agency were all on that side of the ball. Most fans and media believe that trend will continue in the NFL draft, with most of their early selections going towards it as well. Yet there is still one glaring concern on the offensive side. They don’t have a left tackle. Ozzy Trapilo, their planned long-term solution, tore his patellar tendon and could miss all of 2026. The options they have don’t inspire much confidence, at least not from the way Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke about it.
He put his usual optimistic spin on the team’s situation, insisting they are focused on the best player available in the 1st round on April 23rd. However, one comment stood out when discussing the left tackle situation.
“Anywhere, anytime you feel like you got it all together, it takes one thing to set it off,” Poles said. “We’re just trying to find the best solutions as possible. So when you throw Braxton [Jones], you throw Jedrick [Wills Jr.], Theo, Kiran [Amegadjjie], you have a lot of guys and there’s some uncertainty because no one’s played at a high level within the last 12 months. But we’re going to continue to find the best way to put the best five out there.”
Braxton Jones struggled a lot last season before ending the year on Injured Reserve, never looking fully recovered from the leg injury suffered in 2024. Jedrick Wills missed most of 2024 and all of 2025 with a knee injury. Theo Benedet was a liability in pass protection during his stint as a starter last year. Kiran Amegadjie can’t stay healthy. You’re starting to see the concern. When you have four possible left tackles, you have no left tackles.
Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson might be approaching that “screw it” moment.
That is to say, they’re realizing that the best option they have to potentially solve this problem is by targeting a left tackle in the 1st round. It is similar to what happened in 2021. The Bears were staring down a competition between Andy Dalton and Nick Foles at quarterback that year. Head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace knew that wasn’t something that gave them good odds of elevating the team in the long term and probably wouldn’t save their jobs. So they traded up in the 1st round to grab Justin Fields. They also did something similar in 2016 with Leonard Floyd, as injuries kept hampering their edge rushers.
Current projections indicate the Bears could have some intriguing options on the board at #25. Caleb Lomu of Utah has the right mix of size and athleticism, having started two years at left tackle. He’s also polished in most parts of his game. Kadyn Proctor of Alabama is a behemoth who overwhelms defenders with his massive 352 lbs frame, long arms, and excessive power. Max Iheanachor of Arizona State is a late-bloomer who is still new to football, but is progressing rapidly and has a similar build, temperament, and skill set to Darnell Wright.
How the board falls will be key.
It is a safe assumption at this stage that Ryan Poles and Johnson have a short list of players they want in the 1st round. There will absolutely be an offensive tackle on that list. What we don’t know is who that tackle is. Options like Francis Mauigoa, Spencer Fano, and Monroe Freeling are expected to be long gone before they’re on the clock. It may come down to whether anybody else goes as well. If the tackle position is hit with a run early, we’ve seen the Bears choose not to press the issue and shift their focus elsewhere. It happened last year at running back.
The warning signs are unmistakable. Chicago has been obsessing over left tackle since last spring. Johnson constantly tweaked the position all year, looking for somebody to step up. Trapilo finally started to down the stretch, then got hurt. It was a brutal setback. Now the Bears have an uneviable choice. Either they opt for a stop-gap option in hopes Trapilo returns to full strength next year, or they swing for the long-term solution early in this draft. Based on the breadcrumbs, it’s leaning towards the latter.