A few weeks ago, Cairo Santos suffered a leg injury that kept him out of action. As a result, Jake Moody stepped in to replace him and played well, hitting eight of his nine field goal attempts. This created a discussion on whether the Chicago Bears might consider sticking with Moody. Head coach Ben Johnson shut that down immediately. He made it clear. When Santos was healthy, he was the Bears' kicker. A similar situation is developing this week. Left tackle Theo Benedet suffered a quad injury that knocked him out for the Pittsburgh Steelers game. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo stepped in and played well, allowing just one pressure in 41 snaps.
Again, Johnson was asked whether Benedet would start presuming he's recovered enough. This time, he was far more dodgy with his answer.
That is a far cry from his Santos answer, which is a massive hint at where Johnson's thinking is at. Benedet has been a terrific part of the Bears' running game since stepping in for Braxton Jones. Unfortunately, he has been a liability in pass protection. Two sacks and 22 pressures allowed in seven starts. Chicago has Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and Aidan Hutchinson looming on the schedule. If Trapilo is the upgrade in pass protection he seems to be, it isn't difficult to understand why Johnson might be leaning that way.
Ozzy Trapilo passed the final test.
Early in training camp, it looked like the 2nd round pick was neck-and-neck in the competition at left tackle. Then, around the start of the preseason, coaches began to notice that his progress had stalled. His feet were slow, and he looked a little uncertain. Rather than press forward, they decided to shift him back to right tackle for the time being. That opened the way for Benedet to eventually take over the backup job and replace Jones. In a cruel twist of fate, the same is now happening to him.
Injuries are what led to Jones' downfall. Now Benedet. It always felt like the Bears were looking for the first opportunity to get Ozzy Trapilo on the field. If he played well enough, they would keep him there. What they saw against Pittsburgh was everything they'd hoped for. It was why they drafted him. While this development stinks for Benedet, it is the cruel nature of the NFL.
Don't get hurt, or you risk losing your spot.
