LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The many first-time experiences that Ben Johnson prepared for ahead of his first training camp as an NFL head coach include a position battle classified as an anomaly.
In his time with the Dolphins and Lions, Johnson was accustomed to seeing players battle through long, hot practices in July and August to see who would earn a starter's role. The position battle that Johnson hinted at taking "precedence" over others at the start of Chicago Bears training camp features three players vying for the starting left tackle job: Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie and Ozzy Trapilo.
"That's why everything's going to matter," Johnson said. "Every play matters, it all is going to matter as we go through this thing. I can't tell you I've been through a three-man race before, so each play is going to be evaluated and they've got to take full advantage of each opportunity that they get."
With four other spots along the offensive line solidified from left guard Joe Thuney to right tackle Darnell Wright, the Bears will use the next six weeks to find which offensive lineman will be tasked with protecting Caleb Williams' blindside in an effort to reduce the number of sacks taken by the 23-year-old quarterback from a league-high 68 to a more manageable figure.
It's the job Jones has held down for three seasons after the Bears drafted him in the fifth round in 2022. With 40 career starts, Jones brings a level of experience not seen from Amegadjie (one career start) and Trapilo, a rookie.
"I would like to think [Jones'] experience will help him, but we're coming in with blank slates right now," Johnson said, "And so just because a guy's played and another guy hasn't in this league, we're going to let the competition play out and we'll see where it goes."
Jones missed the final two games of the 2024 season after he fractured his left ankle against Detroit on Dec. 22. He sat out OTAs and minicamp while recovering from surgery, which gave Trapilo and Amegadjie the chance to split first-team reps at left tackle.
With Jones in a ramp-up period, the veteran saw first-team reps at left tackle during only the install portion of practice Wednesday and Thursday. Trapilo took first-team reps at left tackle Wednesday, while Amegadjie worked with the second-team unit. That order swapped Thursday with Amegadjie with the ones.
"I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes," tight end Cole Kmet said of the left tackle competition. "I think there's competition across the board in the offense. I'm sure that's the highlighted one here coming into camp, but looking forward to seeing those guys compete, but I think whenever you bring in and have competition across the board at all position groups, it's only going to make the team better."
Trapilo was a three-year starter over five seasons at Boston College before the Bears drafted him in the second round (56th overall). His disciplined play (five penalties over three seasons as a starter) drew rave reviews from the Bears' front office and coaching staff, with general manager Ryan Poles using words such as "dependable" and "technician" to describe the rookie tackle.
Trapilo started 10 games at left tackle in 2022 before moving over to right tackle for his final two college seasons, where he started 24 games. To make his NFL dreams a reality, Trapilo knew he needed to prioritize his versatility, so he dedicated time after practices at Boston College to working on his technique at left tackle during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
As he transitioned back to the left side in the spring, Trapilo noticed early returns.
"With new technique, in a way it's a little easier, I would say, because I don't go flow state like I do if I were to go on the right side," Trapilo said in June. "I kind of just get in those habits, whatever I've been taught for so long. So on that foreign side ... you're able to really hone in on the minor differences that these coaches want to see. There's definitely benefits in that."
Amegadjie, the Bears' third-round pick in 2024, got off to a slow start as a rookie and didn't make his training camp debut until Aug. 22 while recovering from a quadriceps injury sustained four games into his final season at Yale.
With limited reps last offseason, Amegadjie spent his rookie season playing catchup and was thrust into action Oct. 27 in Washington after Jones sustained an injury and struggled through his first start Dec. 16 at Minnesota.
In April, Johnson said the Bears needed to build Amegadjie's confidence and fundamentals so he could have a fair shot to win the left tackle job. Part of that evaluation will include the reps Amegadjie, Jones and Trapilo get in joint practices with the Dolphins and Bills.
Those practices aren't until Aug. 8 and 15, respectively, which gives the Bears time over the next two weeks to evaluate which players stand out among their efforts to improve the pass protection around Williams.
"By Week 1, we'll know exactly who our starting five are going to be, and if that takes three weeks to figure out, great," Johnson said. "If that takes six weeks to find out, no problem."