The Chicago Bears would like to have Charles Leno on the roster still
The Chicago Bears thought they were getting a starting left tackle when they drafted Teven Jenkins in the second round. Ryan Pace landed the first-round talent by trading up for him in the second round. Not many slotted Jenkins into the left side though, and it’s possible he would not have worked out there anyway. We will not know though as Jenkins missed most of training camp and didn’t show us anything in the preseason.
Jenkins’ back injury could have serious long-term ramifications. However, I believe he will recover and still produce on the front line for the Bears. Whether that is on the left or right side is still to be seen. The Bears did not have much of an insurance policy at left tackle this year. Elijah Wilkinson was brought in and has been absolutely awful. The team eventually signed long-time veteran, 39-year-old Jason Peters. Peters looked solid before going down with a quad injury.
In stepped Larry Borom. Borom was a fifth-round pick out of Missouri this year. He was slotted to be the right tackle, but after dropping some weight and the injury to Jenkins, the Chicago Bears gave him a look at left tackle. Borom looked decent, but then he left the game with an ankle injury.
If we look at Charles Leno’s work over the years, he may not be the best left tackle in the league, but he also is not the worst either. The one thing about Leno, he started every game for the Bears since 2015. His durability and average offensive line play would be welcomed right now with the Bears’ current left tackle situation, even if he was the guy who led to Ryan Fitzpatrick’s injury.