Bears News: Takeaways from opening week of OTAs

Trapilo has been getting first team reps (David Banks - USA Today Sports)

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Friday, May 30 2025

It's no secret that the anticipation is building around this football team, as there is a renewed sense of urgency at Halas Hall this Spring. Much of that has to do with Ben Johnson and the new coaching staff, as he continues to put his imprint on the organization and shape its direction.

Accountability is the word that continues to come to mind, as Johnson has had zero issues stopping practice to call players out for their mistakes. It's that accountability that has been lacking in Chicago over the past few seasons, and you could make the case that many of their struggles stemmed from players not being held accountable.

As nice as things are trending at this point, the season is still a long way off, and things can change in an instant. However, for the time being, the excitement around this team is real, and the players are enjoying what is happening so far under this new regime.

With the OTA portion of the offseason continuing, it's nice to dive in to see how things are progressing, as this is arguably one of the most important times during an offseason. It becomes even more crucial when you have a new coach in place, as this is the time for everyone to get on the same page heading into the training camp portion of the offseason.

Here are some takeaways from the last few days of OTAs:

Cole Kmet is standing out

When the Bears drafted Coleston Loveland with their first overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft, there were a lot of mixed reviews when it came to that pick. Sure, Loveland was one of the top tight ends in this year's draft and was a target of Johnson, but with Kmet on the roster, the need for a tight end wasn't that high.

However, guys like Loveland don't come around too often, so when he fell to the Bears in the first round, they couldn't afford to pass him up, as the Bears have the potential to have one of the better tight end rooms in the game. Kmet has taken the addition of Loveland to heart, and over the past few days, he is not only turning heads in camp but also starting to have standout days, which could be a sign of things to come.

There is no denying that Kmet is a solid tight end and, from all accounts, has been one of the more underrated tight ends in the game. His biggest issue was that he never had a reliable backup to help take the pressure off him, which he will have this season. Not only that, but you could see a lot of double-tight end sets with Loveland and Kmet, and that alone could unlock a lot of things that we haven't seen with Kmet.

More soft tissue injuries hampering the Bears

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Luther Burden was missing some time as he was recovering from soft tissue injuries to start his first training session with the Bears. Burden is now back in the lineup and has been impressive, but it's a pair of new issue injuries that have started to mount as Kyler Gordon and T.J. Edwards has been out of the lineup with some tissue injuries of their own.

At this point, none of these injuries appear to be serious enough to cause concern; however, anytime you lose players this early in the offseason for any period of time, it does generate some anxiety. That anxiety only increases when some of your starting players are missing, as Gordon and Edwards are once again expected to be among the leaders on this defense.

This is a defense that took some steps back last season, but for the most part, was still a very good unit as they kept the Bears in a lot of games early in the season. With Dennis Allen taking over as the new DC, they have the potential to become an elite unit, which could help this team reach new heights.

Ozzie Trapilo earns first-team reps

One of the biggest issues for the Bears over the past few seasons has been their failure to address the offensive line. That came full circle last season when Caleb Williams was sacked an NFL high 68 times in 2024, the second most in NFL history. Chicago knows it can't let that happen again, so Ryan Poles chose to address the offensive line this offseason by trading for and extending Joe Thuney, adding Drew Dalman in free agency, and then acquiring Jonah Jackson through a trade.

Then came the draft, where the Bears continued to build in the trenches, landing Boston College offensive lineman Ozzie Trapilo in the second round. Trapilo is a name that many Bears fans weren't familiar with from the start, but it's a name they should be paying attention to, as he has officially started to see first-team reps at the left tackle position.

A lot of that has to do with Braxton Jones being sidelined, but after watching Trapilo hold his own, there are some questions about whether or not Jones will get his starting spot back this season. It's a good problem to have if you're the Bears, and it's a problem they never had to deal with in the past few seasons as the offensive line depth wasn't there.

Now that they have the depth they have been longing for, it's time for this team to put all the pieces together and make a deep playoff run. It seems like the mindset is there to do that, but now they must go out and execute on the field this season.