What Chicago Bears signing Jason Peters means for Teven Jenkins
The Chicago Bears potential future at left tackle Teven Jenkins has gotten off to a rocky start. After slipping in the draft due to a few medical questions, Jenkins has not been cleared to practice with the team. He just missed the team’s first preseason game and will be behind Roquan Smith timeline when he held out in 2018.
Smith was a top ten pick and did not start week one after missing so much time so it is easy to say that Teven Jenkins will not start week one. With the Chicago Bears signing Jason Peters, that may end up being even longer.
Jason Peters is a future Hall of Famer and knows Juan Castillo from years playing with him in Philadelphia. He is not someone who will sign to ride the bench for one season and collect a paycheck. Peters signed because Castillo told him he would start at left tackle week one.
Now, the Bears have an easy excuse to ease Jenkins in because they do have an option and likely a better option in Peters ahead of him. Jenkins will be fighting to get back and healthy, but even when he is healthy the team will likely ease him in. He will have to prove to the coaches and to a star like Peters that he is the better option moving forward.
To be fair, Peters is 39 years old and the Eagles moved him away from left tackle towards the end of last season because they thought he lost a step. There could be a time later in the season where Peters could be unseated.
However, if Jenkins were to just miss week one, the team would have likely stuck with Elijah Wilkerson. This could be until week four or five when we see Jenkins start to get talk of starting.
The reality is that a redshirt season of sorts where he follows around future Hall of Famer and watches how he moves is not a bad thing. Justin Fields will be eased in as well, and the idea of having fresh, healthy, and smarter versions of Jenkins and Fields in 2022 is promising.
However, while many assumed Jenkins would see an NFL field long before Justin Fields, it is now looking like Fields will push Dalton before Jenkins pushes Peters.