Teven Jenkins is entering the final year of his contract. While the offensive guard is interested in extending his stay in Chicago, it sounds like the organization hasn’t been especially active in attempting to re-sign the veteran.
While speaking with reporters today (including Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times), Jenkins acknowledged that his camp “reached out” to the Bears about an extension but “nothing is on the table.” When asked about the front office’s inaction, the offensive lineman described the potential negotiations as “up in the air.”
The former second-round pick is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. As Finley notes, general manager Ryan Poles has recently handed out a handful of extensions, with the reporter pointing to tight end Cole Kmet, defensive end Montez Sweat, nose tackle Andrew Billings, kicker Cairo Santos, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
“I mean, it’s good to see that stuff — that the Bears are willing to do that,” Jenkins said. “But every situation is different. We have to go about it, me and my agent, however ‘upstairs’ wants to do it.”
Jenkins has yet to play a full season, so the Bears may be a bit wary of extending the player too soon. The 26-year-old did stay relatively healthy in 2024; after sitting on injured reserve for the first four games, Jenkins played in 12 of his team’s remaining 13 contests.
After struggling as an offensive tackle, Jenkins took off after switching to guard during his sophomore season. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best guard during the 2022 campaign, and he finished 2023 ranked 14th among qualifying players. The lineman also spent time at both LG and RG, and that versatility could end up helping the Bears down the line.
The organization has been especially active in surrounding Caleb Williams with as much talent as possible. While the team may be dragging their feet a bit with Jenkins, the organization will surely want the offensive lineman locked in for the foreseeable future if he has another strong campaign.
When healthy he’s really good
Definitely, but so far in his career he’s been unavailable far too often. Hope he can play 14+ games this year and then Poles will extend him.
Let’s see if he can make it through a whole season first. Heck let’s see if he can make it through a training camp first. The Bears have a first and 2 2nd’s and a 3rd next year. It might be just cheaper to move on.
Yeah, I think he’s going to have to really impress the coaches at training camp and show he can move up to the next level. You can only wait on these guys for so long.