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The Chicago Bears are bracing to begin the 2023 regular season without starting left guard Teven Jenkins after Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday night, August 20, that the 25-year-old lineman is dealing with a leg injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for roughly the next six weeks.
Fortunately, if the Bears feel they need reinforcements, Dalton Risner is still unsigned.
Risner started 62 games at left guard for the Denver Broncos over the past four seasons, during which time he proved to be both durable and a reliable pass-protector for the interior of their line. According to Pro Football Focus, the 28-year-old has allowed just 10 sacks on 2,304 career pass-blocking snaps from the left guard position, while ESPN found he produced the 10th-best run-block win rate (74%) among NFL guards in 2022.
Risner has also missed just four career games due to injuries. While it does raise a few eyebrows that he has gone this long without being signed — especially after taking an official visit with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this month — the Bears are not going to be able to find a better left guard fill-in on the market at this point in training camp.
The Bears could still turn to Alex Leatherwood — who has been running with the second team at left guard in training camp — and Lucas Patrick to hold down the position while Jenkins is recovering, but it might grant them better peace of mind to put some of their $16.43 million in remaining cap space toward an additional veteran insurance piece.
Will Alex Leatherwood Now Get His Chance With Bears?
With Jenkins expected to miss time into the start of the season, the Bears would be wise to at least check in with some of the free agent veterans — including Andrew Norwell — and see what their options might look like if they were to make an outside addition. Of course, the best path forward might simply be giving Leatherwood his chance to shine.
The Bears scooped up Leatherwood off the waivers early in the 2022 season after the Las Vegas Raiders decided to call it quits with the former first-round pick, but they never quite found a proper use for him. He played most of his snaps at right tackle, but the Bears shifted him to guard toward the end of the season and have been committed to trying to make him an interior player ever since — an experiment that is going well.
Leatherwood played significant snaps in both of the Bears’ first two preseason games, logging 41 snaps against Tennessee and another 45 against Indianapolis, and he has allowed just one single pressure during that entire run. His performances have been good enough to enough him a collective 79.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF, sixth-best among all guards who have played at least 85 snaps during this year’s preseason.
By no means is Leatherwood perfect, but the Bears owe it to themselves to give him a meaningful look as a starter candidate in the final week of the preseason. And if he can ace the test, maybe they will feel comfortable giving him the nod at left guard until Jenkins has returned to full strength.
Cut Deadline Could Offer More Chances to Add to LG
Another reason why it makes sense for the Bears to dive in headfirst with Leatherwood at left guard over the next week is that, if he fails to earn their confidence, they will have a great opportunity to add more depth during 53-man roster cuts on August 29.
In an ideal world, the Bears will see enough good play out of Leatherwood, Patrick and 2022 sixth-rounder Ja’Tyre Carter in the final week of the preseason to not need an outside addition, but the market that is now is not necessarily the market that will be a week from Tuesday. The Bears also still hold the top priority on the waiver wire and will continue to do so — as the 2022 last-place finisher — until the third week of new season.
When all the chips are settled, Risner might still end up being the best available guard talent on the market, but a more sensible short-term option — with less need for financial commitment — could emerge for the Bears when teams trim their rosters.
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