Bear Digest

Tracking the Bears At Camp: Teven Jenkins Joins Long List of Injured

A physical Sunday practice for the players who were available, and the list of those out included a significant number of injured starters.

Gene Chamberlain

Teven Jenkins is the latest starting offensive lineman to head for Bears sick bay.
Teven Jenkins is the latest starting offensive lineman to head for Bears sick bay. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Bears not only failed to get back more of their injured defensive players to practice Sunday but they added one key offensive player to their list of wounded.

Often-injured guard Teven Jenkins left the field early in practice and did not return. They did get veteran starter Nate Davis back on a limited basis but he couldn't scrimmage yet following the "tightness" he was reported to have.

So a makeshift offensive line protected quarterback Caleb Williams and this is not exactly what coach Matt Eberflus had in mind on Saturday when he mentioned how who starts on the offensive line against Buffalo Saturday will determine whether his rookie quarterback plays.

"It always does," he said. "We have to make sure that we're right, there, we feel comfortable with being where we are. And that's always gonna be the case."

It's 35 days until the start of the regular season and the Bears offensive line closely resembles what it was last year when they were changing it around every other week.

They had Matt Pryor at right tackle for injured Darnell Wright Sunday, Bill Murray at left guard for Davis and lined up a few different players at left guard during scrimmage. They looked at undrafted lineman Jerome Carvin at left guard for Jenkins, then later on put Ja'Tyre Carter in at left guard, as well as Ryan Bates.

The line might help determine if Williams plays but running back D'Andre Swift doesn't seem to care who is blocking it for him.

"I mean, it doesn't really change for us for me personally," Swift said. "This is going to be a long season. It (the line) probably won't look the same every single game. Whatever guys trickle in, there can't be no drop-offs at any position. For us, for me personally, it doesn't change my mentality. If anything, I got to be more focused on my job."

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The defense continued playing without five starters. Defensive end Montez Sweat, defensive tackle Andrew Billings, cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were out for the second straight practice coming out of a Thursday game they didn't play, and a Friday off.

So the rest from Monday's day off before three straight practices prior to the Buffalo game will be critical.

"I feel like our biggest thing is being healthy Week 1, not training camp," cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. "You don't win right. You win when the games count on Sundays, when guys are healthy.

"So for me, as long as guys are taking care of their bodies, getting back right to be available in the game, for me personally that's all that matters."

Many of the defensive players had said last year's poor start came as a result of numerous training camp injuries, but they see these injuries as different.

Last year many of the players were new to the scheme and fell behind while being out.

"Again I feel like the guys that have been out have been here," Johnson said. "So, I mean, it's not like they have to come in and learn anything or get up to speed. I think they're pretty much up to speed.

"I think it's more of maybe a conditioning thing, getting out there and getting your legs and wind up.

I feel like for us we were healthy going into the (opener last year), then those first couple of weeks we were really, really banged up. So, I mean, for me personally getting to the dance is all that matters, just trying to get guys healthy, just trying to get guys out of week 1 healthy."

It's Practice, Man

Running back D'Andre Swift started out seven-on-seven with a big reception from Williams on an extended play, wide open well downfield in a place where usually a wide receiver would be found catching a pass.

 "I feel like that's part of my game I can do," Swift said. "So, it was good to kind of do a little scramble drill, get free, and he sees that I’m going to be available in that situation."

It wasn't foreshadowing the rest of practice. The offense went through highs and lows in this one. Both Williams and Tyson Bagent dropped shotgun snaps and the whistle blew. A false start occurred and this time they couldn't blame it on the fake cadence being yelled by Billings, as they had done since he was out.

The defense had its problems, as well. An offsides penalty and a few blown coverages let receivers get wide open.

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However, there were standout plays. D.J. Moore made one nice diving catch along the sideline behind Terell Smith. Smith got some revenge later by breaking up a jump ball to the receiver whose college reputation is built on jump balls, Rome Odunze.

The pass rush came to life and had a couple of passes ruled as sacks before Williams could get off an extended throw, one by DeMarcus Walker. T.J. Edwards made a brilliant pass deflection in the middle of the field with a leap on a throw intended by Williams for Collin Johnson.

Putting' On the Hits

It was also a physical practice. Early on Khalil Herbert got knocked to the ground on a running play that wasn't supposed to be tackle to the ground, and safety Tarvarius Moore and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga collided on special teams and had to be assisted off, although both appeared fine later.

The greatest amount of physicality occurred when a scuffle broke out. Among the numerous players involved were defensive end Khalid Kareem, rookie defensive end Austin Booker and tackle Braxton Jones.

"To me, it's been physical without pads," Johnson said. "So I feel like adding the pads just brings an even more physical element. At the end of the day, it's not about trying to say it's going to be physical. We just got to go out and play our style of ball, of course. That's what we do. We go out there, be physical, fly around. That's just what it is."

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said Matt Eberflus didn't address the scuffle directly with players.

"What I saw out there today was a competition period where guys were competing their tails off and guys trying to make each other better," Hightower said. "Everybody shook hands afterward and everything was fine. Flus can tell you how he felt about it. I really don’t want to answer it. He was his normal self. I saw him being normal, as he always is."

Snap Back

The Bears waived undrafted free agent wide receiver Peter LeBlanc so they could bring aboard another long snapper. It was Cameron Lyons, the long snapper they had on the roster earlier through the offseason and until the start of camp, and then cut.

Twitter: BearsOnSi

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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.