Bear Digest

Teven Jenkins finds a team willing to let him rebound from injuries

A disappointing and also frustrating career in Chicago came to an official end for Teven Jenkins after he came to the Bears as the 39th overall pick.

Gene Chamberlain

Teven Jenkins reacts with an apparent injury during the fourth quarter against Washington in the Hail Mary game.
Teven Jenkins reacts with an apparent injury during the fourth quarter against Washington in the Hail Mary game. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images
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Some will tag it as the Bears losing Teven Jenkins.

In truth, if the Bears wanted their 2021 second-round pick they could have signed him back long before free agency. In fact, they probably could have retained him at a reasonable rate, too, but now Jenkins has signed with the Cleveland Browns according to the team.

Selected by former GM Ryan Pace as a possible tackle starter, Jenkins hasn't been a Ryan Poles guy since almost the day the team changed general managers. He eventually became a right guard and then left guard after the team thought he would fit in better inside than at tackle.

The Bears had already replaced Jenkins with four-time Super Bowl winner and All-Pro Joe Thuney.

Actual sourced reports that Jenkins would be traded popped up as early as his second season, during the 2022 training camp.

Many GMs say it but with Poles availability truly is the best ability.

Injuries have been his one and only real drawback but he seems to find those at every turn of the season. He played in 45 out of a possible 68 games with just 38 starts.

Maybe even worst than the stars was a habit of coming out of games. He failed to finish six games this past season and failed to finish five starts in each of the last three seasons,

He missed the first nine games on IR as a rookie after August back surgery.

In 2022 he had a hip injury and then a neck injury and eventually finished on IR for the final game. He started the 2023 season on IR for four weeks after injuries to both calves, then missed another game with a concussion. For the first time, he avoided IR in 2024 but still finished on the bench the last two games with a calf injury and earlier had missed one with an ankle injury. He also got onto the injury report with ribs, ankle and knee injuries last year.

Always one of the more popular players because of his swagger and playing style, Jenkins' sowed promise when he was healthy. Pro Football Focus had him graded as the league's third-best guard in 2022, 13th best in 2023 and 18th best this past season.

He'll try to stay healthy now and win a starting spot in Cleveland.

Something he said in the locker room as players cleaned out their lockers the Monday after the season summed up how he felt about last year, but also definitely applied to the others.

"I would say frustrated, but that’s what happens," Jenkins said.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.