The three-way battle for the Bears' starting left tackle position remains one of the most intriguing storylines in training camp.
Incumbent Braxton Jones, second-year pro Kiran Amegadjie and rookie Ozzy Trapilo have been splitting reps with the No. 1 offense. On Thursday, all three spoke to the media to discuss the competition.
"The staff has done a great job communicating with us on what they're looking for and putting us in position to go take advantage of every rep," Amegadjie said.
Bears coach Ben Johnson also communicated what he's looking for in a starting left tackle to the media before Thursday's practice.
"To me, it's consistency," Johnson said. "It's who's making the least number of mental errors. I think I said in the springtime tackles, to me, have to be able to pass protect one-on-one on a regular basis and win those one-on-one matchups. Guys that are out there that we're not having to be conscious of with the play call to give them help all the time, that would be ideal. Certainly not the case everywhere I've been. Over the years, you've had to help them out with the play calls. But those guys that can block a defensive end one-on-one, they'll be really at a premium."
A 2022 fifth-round pick, Jones has been the Bears' starting left tackle since the opening game of his rookie season. The Southern Utah product spent the offseason rehabbing a broken ankle he sustained in the second-to-last game last year. On Thursday, Jones candidly discussed the mental and physical challenges he faced while recovering from surgery.
"Early on, there were a lot of things that I was battling, in terms of being my first serious, serious injury," Jones said. "It makes you look in the mirror and be like, 'What are you going to do to get back? What are the things you're going to do and how hard are you going to work to get back?'
"There were some days where I woke up and I was like, 'I don't feel like doing much today.' But I continued to get up. The training room pushed me. Everyone pushed me. I have a great support system, family that supported me and people that supported me early on that I appreciate too.
"This injury has definitely been very tough on me. I've learned a lot about myself. I feel good, just to be out there with the guys, running and feeling like myself again."
Enduring months of monotonous rehab and recovery taught Jones to be patient.
"I learned a lot of patience," he said. "After getting surgery, I had to be patient with myself and patient with the people around me. Honestly, I stepped on a lot of toes during that process early on. It was hard to realize that I needed to be more patient with people and allow them to help me, allow them to do things for me.
"When you're healthy, you're go, go, go, go. Then when you're down like that and injured, you have to be patient and learn that it's a process."
Amegadije is familiar with that rehab process. After being chosen by the Bears in the third round of last year's draft out of Yale, he spent last offseason recovering from surgery to repair a quad injury that cut his final college season short. He missed most of his first training camp before being activated from the non-football injury list last Aug. 18.
A year later, Amegadjie is elated that he's been able to practice since the start of camp.
"It's been awesome," he said. "I wish I had this opportunity last year. Just wasn't in the position to do so. But I've been having a lot of fun with it, just really competing with myself and every day trying to be better than the last. It's been a great learning experience, great to be with the guys and build camaraderie, great to be around all these new guys who are teaching us a lot."
Amegadjie ultimately appeared in six games with one start as a rookie. Entering his second NFL season, the 6-5, 326-pounder feels like he has improved as a player.
"I think I'm moving pretty well right now," he said. "I think I'm using my length better than I did last year. My set looks cleaner to me, just trying to make that more consistent. And in terms of scheme and playbook-wise, I think I'm in a much better position this year than I was last year."
While only one of them can win the starting job, Trapilo feels as if he's building a bond with Jones and Amegadjie.
"The camaraderie is definitely something that I'm super grateful for," said the rookie tackle. "They're both great guys and they're the first ones to help any of us anytime that there's something on the field that you have a question [about] or some specific technique, anything like that. I'm really grateful for the way that they're handling themselves.
"The situation is what it is, but we're all out there trying to be better as team. They're doing their part. I'm doing mine and we're just trying to make each other better."
The Bears picked Trapilo in the second round of the draft because they viewed him as smart, tough, dependable and a consistent three-year starter at Boston College, where he was schooled in a pro-style offense.
"That's the beauty of a program like Boston College," Johnson said. "They are and they've been known for a number of years to produce offensive linemen that are pro ready. They run a pro system with [coach] Bill O'Brien."
Johnson also leaned on Boston College offensive coordinator Will Lawing. The two were college teammates at North Carolina, where Johnson played quarterback and Lawing was a receiver.
"He's a good buddy of mine," said the Bears coach. "He gave me great insight on Ozzy not only as a player but also the type of person that he is.
"Everything that he told me about Ozzy has really rang true. Guys like that, they usually find a way to use their physical ability to their advantage, and I think I said it the other day, what he does well, what he doesn't do well, he knows what those are and maximizes that."
