When Teven Jenkins Can Expect Contract Talks with the Bears

Fourth-year guard says he's been given a specific timetable by GM Ryan Poles about talks for an extension.

Teven Jenkins' contract talks are a little more clear after he said the team has given him a date to look at it. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

A definite timeline has been attached to negotiations with Teven Jenkins on a contract extension.

Earlier, during the offseason, Jenkins had seemed perplexed at how GM Ryan Poles hadn't been serious about talks.

They're coming.

"Last I was told, I've gotta wait until after the bye week to reconvene about it," Jenkins said.

Oct. 20 is the Bears' Sunday for a bye. It's after the fifth game.

The Bears reportedly have $13.3 million of cap space for this season, according to Spotrac.com. They could use some that toward a contract extension if they need to do it.

There are many avenues they could take, like restructuring other deals if they wanted to get one done for Jenkins. However, they are set up well for the next two years in cap space so a new contract for Jenkins doesn't seem to be a matter of cash as much as it is his health.

Jenkins has played exceptional football but has missed 20 out of a possible 51 games due to injuries. The fourth-year veteran says he feels better than he ever has heading into a season partly because he has increased the amount of money he spends to stay in better shape.

"It would probably be almost double," Jenkins said. "Don't tell them that because they might drive the price up on me.

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"I try to stay well within my means of that and understanding that I do have a newborn; formula is not cheap. I figured that out very quick. Diapers aren’t cheap as well. And wipes. Wipes go out like that (snapping his fingers. But yeah, there's a lot of things that are in my budget now that was not in mine before. I'm trying to make it (cost) more reasonable. More now, I could have a lot more later."

The conditioning is nothing extreme.

"Other than spending a lot more on my body than I ever have, that's really about it," he said. "I'm just starting to hammer more—like I was talking to my (personal trainer) guy. I'm gonna see if he comes out twice a week, make sure I get my body going into the game day. I'm trying new chefs out and making sure I keep my inflammation down and my body, make sure nothing has bumps and bruises.

"I'm gonna start looking into more massages. Not a big massage guy, but I'm gonna look into probably seeing if that would be beneficial as well."

He had made it clear to the Bears he wanted to be back.

"I made it vocal many times that I want to be here on the Chicago Bears," Jenkins said. "And whatever I need to do of how much I'd need to pay forward to get it back on the back end, and that's the determination I have to keep doing that and understanding that I need to spend more short term to get more long term for myself and my family."

The realization he needed to improve his conditioning came with time.

"I'm getting older," he said. "Eighteen years old, I use to hop on that field, no stretch, nothing—easy, no matter what.

"As I started getting older, I'm like, 'All right, maybe I need to not have Wendy's on Tuesday right before practice or Whataburger on Wednesday in college,' and starting to understand that these meals and this money I'm spending on my body actually is beneficial for me in the long run and I can actually have longevity in this sport."

The contract agreed to by Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz had Jenkins' attention. Meinerz reportedly received $80 million for four years with $45 million guaranteed.

"Yeah, I trained with Quinn," Jenkins said. "He's a really good dude. Like him. Love to see him get paid. I'm really excited for him. It's good overall for the guard market."

A total like $80 million can help pay for a good personal trainer and a lot of baby wipes.

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