The Ben Johnson Effect at work? Ozzy Trapilo ahead of schedule

Everything Ben Johnson touches turns to gold, or so it seems.

He's making a quarterback out of Caleb Williams and a general manager out of Ryan Poles. Every player introduced to the Bears offense under Johnson has been a plus – from All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman to rookie tight end Colston Loveland and seventh-round running back Kyle Monangai. When 2024 undrafted free agent Theo Benedet replaced benched starter Braxton Jones at left tackle last year, the Bears' offense didn't miss a beat — the Bears went 6-1 in Benedet's seven starts and averaged 26 points per game (ninth in the NFL in that span) and 161.6 rushing yards per game (first in the NFL).

Even the one significant disappointment — second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo losing the left tackle competition so completely that he was moved to right tackle — turned into a positive when Trapilo returned to start seven games at left tackle and look like the potential long-term solution at left tackle the Bears were looking for when they drafted him. Just good fortune, perhaps, but more likely another sign of the Ben Johnson touch. (It's worth noting the biggest current order of business at Halas Hall that Johnson has nothing to do with — the new stadium — is mired in typical Halas Hall dysfunction.)

So maybe it's not a coincidence that the Bears' injury rehab fortunes seem to have taken a turn under Ben Johnson. Trapilo, who suffered a patellar tendon injury in the final drive against the Packers in the playoffs last season, was activated Sunday and is expected to return to practice and presumably play earlier than anticipated this season.

There's still a long way to go before Trapilo plays in a regular-season game. But anyone who has followed the Bears over the last 20-plus seasons was almost in a state of shock with the news that Trapilo was being activated. The Bears have a dubious history with injuries to high draft picks, notably with wide receiver Kevin White in 2015, but especially rookie offensive linemen — Marc Colombo (2002), Chris Williams (2008), Gabe Carimi (2011) and Teven Jenkins (2021).

It's not that Johnson has some kind of divine healing power Lovie Smith, John Fox, Matt Nagy and previous Bears coaches didn't have. But the Bears did something notably different with Trapilo's injury than those previous rookies — they managed expectations by publicly giving the worst-case scenario instead of the hopeful best-case scenario.

In his season-ending press conference, Poles said Trapilo would be out "deep" into the 2026 season. The March update wasn't any more optimistic — "He'll miss most of next year," Poles said. "Pretty significant injury that he's got to get through." Every vibe and indication from the Bears gave the impression that Trapilo was more likely to miss the entire season than not.

That's a far cry from key Bears injuries of the past, when cautious if not rosy optimism usually ended in disappointment.

• In 2002, first-round draft pick Marc Colombo suffered a dislocated kneecap in his fifth start as a rookie. "The injury turned out to be not as severe as we had feared," coach Dick Jauron said. Colombo's rehab became extremely complicated and he ended up missing the entire 2003 season and starting just two games late in 2004 before the Bears finally released him in 2005. (To make matters worse, Colombo ended up signing with the Cowboys and was suddenly rejuvenated — starting 59 consecutive games (on mostly top-10 offenses) — and 92 of 100 games over six seasons with the Cowboys and Dolphins.)

• In 2008, first-round draft pick Chris Williams suffered back spasms in his first practice of training camp. He was day-to-day. "It's something minor and muscular, but he's still not ready to go yet," Lovie Smith said. Williams eventually had back surgery, missed the first seven games of the 2008 season and played in nine games without a start on the offensive line.

• In 2011, Gabe Carimi was a Week 1 starter as a first-round rookie, but suffered a dislocated right kneecap in his second game and initially was expected to be out "at least two weeks." But the injury lingered and Carimi eventually had surgery in December and missed the entire season. He started 14 games in 2012, but was never the same player and was traded to the Buccaneers for a sixth-round draft pick in 2013.

• In 2021, Teven Jenkins was slated to be the starter at left tackle but opened camp on the sidelines with "back tightness." A week into camp, Nagy was optimistic. "Arrow up," he said when asked about Jenkins. Two weeks later, the Bears announced that Jenkins had undergone back surgery and he did not play until Week 13, with two starts as a rookie.

It's not that the Bears are guilty of being overly optimistic about injuries. The default reaction is usually hopefulness. Even John Fox, who lived by a mantra of setting low expectations —  "understate, overproduce" — was selling the company line of optimism when Kevin White opened camp on the PUP list (physically unable to perform). But less than two weeks after Fox reported "He's making progress," White had surgery on his injured leg and missed the 2015 season.

The prognosis for Trapilo was a notable departure from that default setting. And history has proven that's the way to go. For what it's worth, two of the most notable local examples of dire scenarios ended up in championship seasons. In February of 2015, the Blackhawks said Patrick Kane would miss 12 weeks with a broken collarbone he suffered against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 24 at the United Center, which would have put him out until late May. Instead, Kane was back on the ice five weeks laster and returned in time for the playoff opener on April 14. And was in prime form — Kane had an league-best 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in helping the Hawks win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons.

And in 2016, Kyle Schwarber initially was expected to miss more than six months after tearing two ligaments in his left knee in the third game of the season on April 7. Even the Cubs were already looking to 2017 when discussing the impact of Schwarber's injury. Schwarber famously returned for the World Series on Oct. 25 as a designated hitter/pinch-hitter and hw hit .412 (7-for-17) in five games, including the leadoff single that started a two-run rally in the 10th inning of Game 7 as the Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908.

It remains to be seen how quickly Trapilo will be ready to start a game at left tackle, and — more importantly — how effective he'll be after a potentially devastating injury for an offensive lineman. But his return is another indication that this is the dawn of a new era at Halas Hall, where anything Ben Johnson has his hands on seems to have a better chance to succeed than fail.

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