While the Chicago Bears keep downplaying the seriousness of Teven Jenkins’ back injury, concerns rise. Is it time to worry about the rookie?
Many draft experts expected the Chicago Bears to draft offensive lineman Teven Jenkins in the first round. Instead, the team made a bold move and traded up to draft their potential franchise quarterback, Justin Fields.
The Bears were fortunate, though, as Jenkins was still available in the second round. They made another move up to draft him. Getting their franchise quarterback and someone to protect his blind spot in the first two rounds of the draft seemed like a coup for the Bears.
Then some peculiar things happened. The Bears decided to go all-in on Jenkins. The kid, who played most of his college career on the right side of the line, suddenly moved over to left tackle. That is the most important position after quarterback since it’s his job to protect the quarterback’s blindspot.
Not only did the Bears go all-in on Jenkins, but they did it by also taking away his safety net. The Bears cut Charles Leno, the previous starting left tackle. That meant Jenkins had to move to a position he wasn’t too familiar with and had no one behind him in case he struggled.
So what happened? Well, nearly three weeks into training camp we don’t know if Jenkens is struggling with the position. The reason for that is that Jenkins is busy struggling with a back issue. He has yet to even step foot at training camp.
Many people wondered why Jenkins, with all his talent and no red flags concerning attitude, fell in the draft. Now we know why. There were likely some teams who shied away from Jenkins because back injuries don’t usually get better with time.
Was Jenkins’ condition public, though? It must have been because recently Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy said the team was aware of the situation.
"Teven is doing everything he can right now to get through this. We were well aware of everything, with some of the back issues that he had in college. Right now, this is just a part of the process, and we know that. So we’re just going to keep staying positive with him, and we have a plan…"
Nagy was trying to downplay the situation and ease concerns. What he did was the complete opposite. He and the rest of the team keep downplaying the injury but the rookie hasn’t made an appearance at all in training camp.
He’s supposed to be learning a new position at the professional level but hasn’t been able to do so. Even if he comes back soon, his appearance in Week 1 as the starting left tackle is in jeopardy. This week is the start of the preseason games. There are only three preseason games this year so the snaps in games are cut down. Now they’re cut down even more since he won’t be in this week’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
If Nagy is right, this was an incredible act of malpractice by the Chicago Bears
When general manager Ryan Pace makes a mistake, it isn’t a small one. He fails spectacularly. If what Nagy said is indeed true, this may be another example of really screwing things up. If the team knew of Jenkins’ condition on draft day, why take out his safety net in Leno?
Yes, I know how much Chicago Bears fans crap on Leno. They think he’s the worst tackle in the history of the NFL. That wasn’t the case, however. Sure, he had his bad moments, especially in pass protection, but was a pretty effective run blocker. If Jenkins struggled or if his injury problem was worse than first expected, Leno could fill in. If Jenkins did well, Leno could mentor him until the Bears felt it was time to cut ties with the veteran.
Instead, the Bears now have Jenkins on the shelf, and Elijah Wilkinson, another player used to playing on the right side, is now the starting left tackle on the depth chart. The position assigned to protecting the quarterback’s blind spot is on the verge of collapse.
Leave it to Pace and company to make a molehill out of a mountain. They continue to say “nothing to see here” while Jenkins keeps missing practices. What if he eventually needs surgery and misses the entire season? Could it happen?
We don’t know because we don’t know the extent of the injury. It’s serious enough for him to miss three weeks of practice, though. MIssing that much time, along with missing at least one-third of the preseason games, surely hurts Jenkins’ chance of playing at his spot in Week 1.
Despite what the Chicago Bears keep saying, Jenkins’ injury is a serious matter. The team has to figure out a way to resolve this matter. Give more clarification on the injury, and if it is serious enough, go and find a veteran left tackle. Have that player be like Andy Dalton, a bridge player. Yes, they already had their bridge but they blew that one down.