Getty Bears OL Teven Jenkins readies to block against the Minnesota Vikings.
Based on what we’ve seen so far in 2022, the Chicago Bears seem to be going down a path that leads to them trading offensive lineman Teven Jenkins.
Chicago’s 39th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Jenkins was a selection of the team’s former regime, led by ex-general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. Shortly after new GM Ryan Poles took over in January, he made it known he was looking for his O-linemen to be on the agile and slim side, which Jenkins was not.
As the months passed, Jenkins seemed to lose more favor with Poles and the new coaching staff, led by head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. After taking reps with the first team in May, Jenkins, who revealed he dropped 20 pounds off the 345-pound frame he had in 2021, was relegated to playing with the second team behind fifth-rounder Braxton Jones less than a month later.
After veterans reported to training camp on July 26, Jenkins missed seven straight practices due to an undisclosed injury, and multiple reports have said the team is looking to trade him.
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Jenkins Rumored to Be On Trade Block
“What I’m hearing is there is a high level of disconnect between Teven and the new coaching staff, especially Chris Morgan, the new offensive line coach,” David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago said about Jenkins on his YouTube Channel on July 30.
Trade rumors flew into high gear when NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported via Twitter on August 1 that the Bears “have received calls and have held trade talks centered around” the 24-year-old offensive lineman.
The #Bears have received calls and have held trade talks centered around OT Teven Jenkins, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. The former 2nd round pick has drawn interest based on his potential. A situation to watch.
Now, another team insider has weighed in, revealing what the young OL would likely garner in a trade.
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ESPN Insider Confirms Interest in Jenkins
Jenkins appeared in six games as a rookie last year, starting two. He missed much of the season after having back surgery and surrendered 11 total pressures, 2.0 sacks and two QB hits in 160 snaps, per PFF, often struggling to find his footing.
In an appearance on NBC Sports’ Under Center podcast on August 5, ESPN insider Courtney Cronin, who has been at every team practice since training camp opened, added a few more layers to the situation:
“I checked in with a couple of sources around the league, some people I know in front offices, just asking, ‘What are you hearing? Is there any actual movement?’ And the teams that I have talked to have at least called to get background on Teven Jenkins and tried to figure out how serious the Bears are about potentially moving him,” Cronin told co-host Kenneth Davis, before explaining why it’s no surprise to find Jenkins currently struggling to find his place on the team:
The buzz that Kap had reported about there being some friction between Jenkins and the new coaching staff doesn’t really bring up too much of a surprise for me because, honestly, when you go back to when Ryan Poles was hired and that first press conference he did with us at the Combine, we were talking about changing body compositions and he was asked about Larry Borom and Teven Jenkins, it never felt like the franchise was married to either of these two options at the tackle spots. So now that we fast-forward all these months later and at least Borom is still part of the mix and Jenkins not being part of the mix as of right now, I feel like there might have been some writing on the wall that we all can certainly now acknowledge has been the case and I’ll be very curious to see what the team does going forward if they do indeed try to get something for him instead of having to cut him when they move from 90 to 53.
Cronin: Jenkins Might Garner 5th, 6th Round Pick
It’s unlikely the Bears would cut a 2021 second-rounder, so a trade is the more likely route. What kind of draft capital could Chicago get in return?
“One source told me a conditional fifth (or) a conditional sixth, but I think that was just some pontificating on the situation,” Cronin told Davis. “I mean, he’s a former second-round pick. It is kind of eye-opening if you give up on a second-round pick that quickly. The guy is in his second season, but I think that would point to just what the new regime thinks about Teven Jenkins. If they’re willing to part ways and cut bait that quickly with someone who was just drafted and played less than 160 snaps at left tackle last year due to injuries and other circumstances, then there must be something there that they really don’t believe (in).”
With the team’s first preseason game coming up on August 13, it’ll be interesting to see how much playing time Jenkins gets in the three contests leading up to the regular season. If he’s featured prominently and often, a trade could be coming before roster cuts. It won’t be long before we know what Poles and company decide to do. Stay tuned.
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