In June, Teven Jenkins made it known attempts from his camp to pursue a Bears extension were unsuccessful. His latest comments on the matter provide further clarity on the timing of a potential deal being worked out. 
The fourth-year offensive lineman said on Monday (via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin) the Bears informed his agents any potential extension would take place no earlier than the team’s bye week. As a result, Jenkins will be a pending free agent in 2024 through at least Week 7. Plenty will depend on his level of play as he continues to operate along the interior.
Jenkins entered the league with the expectation of being able to serve as a right tackle starter. He struggled in that role, but moving to guard allowed him to take a notable step forward. The 26-year-old was PFF’s third highest-rated guard in 2022, and he ranked 14th last season, one in which he missed the first four games of the campaign. Jenkins (who took snaps at both left and right guard in 2023) would up his market value with another strong showing this fall.
Chicago has 2022 fifth-rounder Braxton Jones in place on the blindside with 2023 10th overall pick Darnell Wright at the right tackle spot. The former has two years remaining on his rookie deal, while the latter can remain under team control through 2027 via the fifth-year option. Pairing those two with a Jenkins extension would ensure stability up front for the Bears.
Jenkins in particular and the team as a whole will face expectations on an offense featuring a new quarterback (Caleb Williams) and several acquisitions at the skill positions (led by running back D’Andre Swift and receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze). The play of the offensive line will be key, of course, and Jenkins’ financial future will be determined if he continues his strong guard play and convinces the Bears to make a multi-year commitment in him.
Chicago is currently projected to have over $47MM in 2025 cap space, so affording a second Jenkins contract should be feasible. If the team elects not to extend the Oklahoma State alum, he could look to benefit from the upward trajectory of the guard market in free agency.
They might as well have said the truth. Look Dude, We have a first and 2 2nds next year and we’re going to wait and see if you can stay healthy before we sign you to an extension. Then we’ll see what happens. We have options.
Those draft picks are just lottery tickets. I generally don’t put much stock in PFF grades but Jenkins seems to have the versatility to play either guard position so that’s worth something. The free agent market offers almost nothing to teams in need of OL upgrades so if you have a guy with any kind of potential you need to get him locked in for at least 4-5 years.
Well Davis has to be gone next year because he’s not worth 11 million bucks and they can get out from him almost completely. So that leaves some money for Jenkins. But by waiting they also get to see if Davis is a complete bust or if he can save this year. He better be close to All Pro to be worth keeping but I doubt it. So you have 2 question marks at Guard this year. Not to mention that there always seems to be a few Guards who make it through FA that are good players and available every year so maybe it’s not a priority anymore.
Yeah, but your assuming the Bears will actually use those picks on linemen, which they probably will not. Poles will see something ‘shiny’ to distract him from fixing the most important positions on the field (again): The O and D lines.
Never mind that it takes time to develop O linemen, they typically are not plug and play, unless the team has a line issue, and even then it typically does not work out well. Jenkins is not perfect, but if he really can stay healthy he is their best option at this point, due to aforementioned neglect of the Oline (and D line for that matter)
No one doubts the kid’s talent. He’s a serious bada$$. But none of that matters if you can’t stay on the field.
The reason issue here is Poles continuing neglect of the lines via draft and FA. Williams may be ‘the’ quarterback, but nothing matters if he is on his back (or running for his life) after 2-3 seconds. Heck this pathetic Bears D line has gotten to him in practices, and they only have one proven pass rusher in Sweat (and yeah I get that its ‘only practice’ but with this team, and its line issues, it does not look good).
Sorry, but I have had enough of the 300 screen passes in a game by this squad which is what will occur again if the O-line cannot do its damn job.
Not sure where you’re getting all that but the Bears have used the draft( Wright, Jones, Carter, Borom, Amegadajie ), FA( Bates- Bills matched, Shelton, Pryor, Patrick-waste, Davis- bigger waste) And they have various extra pieces that remain to be seen. Jenkins was here before Poles so like most GM’s if they’re not a stud they aren’t really safe. All we have to show Jenkins is a stud is his PFF grades, And I’m not sure what they mean. The great thing about OL is you can find them anywhere in the draft and in FA. However if you sign them in FA, You’re more likely to end up with a POS like Davis and a big bill. The smart play is to draft your own. It’s why I keep harping for Connor Williams. Even if he doesn’t play much this year. And I don’t think your D Line statement is accurate either.