Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was on ESPN 1000’s Kap & J. Hood show this morning, and he touched on several topics, but what he shared about the offensive line was most interesting to me.
With left tackle Braxton Jones not expected to return this summer as he continues his rehabilitation, rookie Ozzy Trapilo and second-year pro Kiran Amegadjie will receive reps there. Right tackle Darnell Wright appears to be staying at the only position he’s played as a Bear.
Poles said they would like to have their o-line positions figured out before training camp, so the next three months will be critical.
“Whatever we settle on, especially when we’re going into training camp, it’s going to be really important to stick with that and be as consistent as possible.” Poles said on the show via @CourtneyRCronin. “…our mindset is wherever we end up settling going into training camp, we’d like to be as stable as possible so we’re not flipping guys left and right…”
Trapilo has played some left tackle at Boston College, but the last two years, he manned the right side. However, he’s certainly been practicing his left tackle stance in the months leading up to the NFL Draft.
My biggest takeaway here is that, although it may have been discussed, Wright appears to be locked in at right tackle.
Poles was also asked if a contract extension for left guard Joe Thuney was in the works, and he said they hope to have something done soon.
The interview wasn’t all offensive line, but there was some more trenches talk.
He said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen would determine how his defensive line would line up, but he did imply his taller and more athletic defensive tackles would play off the edge some.
Poles was asked about adding a veteran running back, and while he was noncommittal, the door is open to something after the coaches get a chance to work with the current group of backs.
You can check out their entire segment in this YouTube embed here.