Bears Shouldn’t Let Teven Jenkins Stroll (Or Limp) Out The Door

No particular person personifies the angst over the Bears’ offensive line bigger than Teven Jenkins. His hassle staying on the sector makes it straightforward to suppose Ryan Poles ought to simply let him stroll away as a free agent, notably if the opposite various is giving him $10 million per you to hope he stays healthful.

However perhaps the Bears must discover a approach to be ingenious and cling onto Jenkins for on the very least a yr or two, crossing their fingers he can keep on the sector subsequent season.

A way or one completely different, rebuilding the offensive line defending Caleb Williams is the quick precedence for Poles and head coach Ben Johnson. The one really acknowledged amount is true handle Darnell Wright, given the left handle Braxton Jones’ ongoing restoration from a damaged left ankle. The inside of the freeway, which was patched collectively in 2024, is anyone’s guess.

Jenkins, Wright and Jones have been the very best devices of the freeway that Expert Soccer Focus ranked twenty fourth after being blamed for 37 of Williams’ 68 sacks. Jenkins was ranked thirteenth amongst 77 qualifying guards by PFF, making it three years in a row he’s been above the 14 finest in PFF grading.

When the Bears carried out the Saints in Week 9 of 2023, Jenkins turned in a 91.1 PFF rating, the very best of the week by NFL linemen. He was nearly nearly practically pretty much as good in route of the Commanders in Week 8 final season, permitting no pressures (or sacks).

The issue with Jenkins is never the standard of his work; it’s the quantity. He carried out solely 37 of the Bears’ 60 offensive snaps in that Washington recreation and completed the season having carried out 738 whole snaps, which ranked fifty fifth amongst guards. He was 52nd in 2023 with 731 snaps.

Jenkins has had just one surgical course of with the Bears. However that when extra surgical course of wrecked his rookie season and has led to his recognition for being fragile. He’s missed 15 of 51 video video video games the final word three seasons with quite a lot of seemingly unrelated accidents — a neck hurt in 2022, which triggered his to be stretched off the sector; a concussion in ’23, and rib, ankle and calf accidents in 24.

The Bears seemingly would have signed Jenkins to an enormous contract extension by this stage had he been further healthful. He talked about at one stage the edges have been anticipated to speak contract in the course of the Week 7 bye nonetheless, inside the event that they occurred, these talks went nowhere. The Bears have been centered on his quick availability, not the long run, after he left one October recreation with a rib hurt and one completely different with an ankle hurt.

It’s unlikely the Bears medical workers goes to endorse an unlimited funding in Jenkins. However given the issue of establishing an offensive line, Poles and Johnson might wish to ponder a restricted hazard on Jenkins. He might very properly be a serious depth piece even when Poles lands three inside linemen by free agency and the draft.

Spotrac calls Jenkins’ market worth as $31 million over three years. However he heads into free agency figuring out his hurt historic earlier will perhaps be as quite a lot of a difficulty to completely completely different groups as a result of it is to the Bears. Poles’ roster is at the moment $65.9 million beneath the wage cap (fifth finest contained in the NFL) and that whole will most definitely develop to $75 million as shortly as he releases fairly just a few veterans (these candidates embody Gerald Everett and Ryan Bates).

Jenkins would possibly really actually really feel he has to check the market. He’s earned the precise. However he’s talked about he desires to remain in Chicago. Most likely there’s a method to work out a ingenious contract that retains him. Jenkins has been an asset, not a obligation.