Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
In order for the Chicago Bears to make the offensive leap for which they are aiming this year, the core group must remain healthy. The team suffered a blow in that regard during practice on August 2.
Adam Hoge of CHGO Sports reported that starting left guard Teven Jenkins was forced to exit Wednesday’s training camp session due to an undisclosed injury concern.
Teven Jenkins leaving the practice field with a trainer.
“Teven Jenkins leaving the practice field with a trainer,” Hoge tweeted late Wednesday morning.
Bears LG Teven Jenkins Has Significant Injury History in NFL
GettyOffensive guard Teven Jenkins of the Chicago Bears is carted off the field after being injured during an NFL game against the Philadelphia Eagles in December 2022.
Jenkins — just a two-year NFL veteran and a budding star for the Bears — has already compiled a significant injury history across his brief professional career.
The offensive lineman missed all but six games during his rookie campaign in 2021 due to a back surgery. Jenkins then sat out four contests in 2022 due to multiple injury concerns. He has appeared in 19 of a possible 34 regular season games since entering the league and has made just 13 starts.
Jenkins missed one game of the 2022 campaign with a hip issue and was later observed limping after Chicago’s narrow Week 10 loss to the Detroit Lions. The most serious incident of the year occurred in mid-December during a contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, when Jenkins sustained a neck injury that required members of the Bears’ medical staff to cart him off the field on a stretcher.
The severity of Jenkins’ newest injury, suffered during practice, was not known as of early Wednesday afternoon. However, the fact that he left the field under his own power is a silver lining considering the severity of his recent football-related health issues.
Bears’ Teven Jenkins Pushing for Elite Performance in ‘Prove-It’ Year
GettyOffensive guard Teven Jenkins (left) of the Chicago Bears blocks defensive end George Karlaftis (right) of the Kansas City Chiefs during an NFL preseason game in August 2022.
Losing Jenkins for any significant period of time would be a considerable blow to the Bears’ hopes for the upcoming campaign. The left guard is entering the third season of his four-year, $8.4 million rookie contract after the Bears selected him with the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
After a rocky first year and an uncertain transition under the new regime of general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus last offseason, Jenkins found his stride in 2022.
Primarily playing on the right side of the line, Jenkins produced a Pro Football Focus (PFF) player grade of 80.7, slotting him in as the third-best offensive guard in the NFL last season out of 77 players who saw enough snaps to qualify at the position. He was particularly good against the run, earning an 82.2 grade from PFF in that category.
The Bears decided to move Jenkins to left guard this summer, after building a new right side of the offensive line by drafting rookie right tackle Darnell Wright out of the University of Tennessee with the No. 10 overall pick and signing free agent Nate Davis to slot in at right guard. However, Davis has missed the last couple of training camp practices due to injury concerns of his own.
Jenkins will join second-year left tackle Braxton Jones on quarterback Justin Fields‘ blind side during the upcoming season, assuming injury concerns to players like Davis don’t demand Jenkins line up elsewhere. The offensive guard said in May that he plans to be a “dominant force” while protecting his quarterback.
“For me, ultimately, I like to think of it as my prove-it year, and I would assume everybody around me would think the same,” Jenkins told ESPN 1000’s Bears Weekly Podcast on May 25. “And for me, for this year, I’m expecting big things out of myself and so are the people in the front office and everybody around me.”
“Last year, I felt like I gave up too many pressures, even too many sacks. My goal for this year is always going to be zero sacks for myself and the O-line,” Jenkins continued. “But going into this year, I just want to be a dominant force and somebody that can be accountable for my team.”