This is crazy. We have seen Teven Jenkins go from the future starting left tackle under the prior regime to fighting for the right tackle spot in the current regime, to now “waking up with something”. What is the new Chicago Bears regime going to do about this situation? Is Teven Jenkins truly injured? Is he dealing with an illness? Matt Eberflus never specified the details of what Jenkins “woke up with” but rumors are swirling about the 2021 second-rounder.
Since basically the start of Chicago Bears training camp, Teven Jenkins has not been practicing. Reports have come out stating that he has been at Halas Hall, but he has not been practicing with the team. Not with the starters or the second-string unit. To start voluntary OTAs, Jenkins was the starting right tackle, while Larry Borom was the starting left tackle. After six practices, rookie offensive tackle, Braxton Jones was given the chance to practice as the starting left tackle, while Larry Borom was moved to right tackle and Jenkins was pushed to the second-string unit.
Matt Eberflus tried to brush it off as the coaching staff rotating guys to determine which five best players should start the 2022 NFL season. With Jenkins essentially missing from training camp, there are plenty of rumors going around and we need to be careful with what we believe to be true. We also need to be patient and wait for the situation to play out before jumping to any conclusions.
David Kaplan tells Chicago Bears fans that Teven Jenkins is immature
David Kaplan turned to his YouTube channel and laid a bombshell-worthy rumor that a source told him that Teven Jenkins isn’t dealing with a significant injury. Instead, that source is telling Kaplan that Teven Jenkins struggles with immaturity.
Kaplan goes on to say that there is a disconnect between Jenkins and the new coaching staff — specifically with offensive line coach Chris Morgan. The rumor is that Teven Jenkins is not taking his job seriously enough and although he might be the most talented offensive lineman on the team, his lack of preparation and dedication could lead to him taking a backseat or even worse, not making the final roster.
This isn’t the first time we have heard about Teven Jenkins not taking football seriously. His former head coach at Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy talked about how Jenkins is only scratching the surface of his abilities and that he only got serious about football a year and a half ago. Gundy went on to say that his future is bright as long as he continues to focus on football. Well, maybe the rumors Kaplan is hearing, even if his “sources” are constantly proven wrong, aren’t too far off.
Who is the Chicago Bears temporary starting center, Doug Kramer?
The Chicago Bears lost Lucas Patrick to injury. This is obviously bad news, but the one positive is that rookie, Doug Kramer will see valuable reps.
No matter what the situation is, Teven Jenkins needs to get back on the field if he plans on starting for this team in 2022. The hope was that when the pads came on at practice this week, he’d stand out above the rest. That cannot happen if he’s not even suiting up for practice. Is Jenkins going to go down as another Ryan Pace disaster? I was admittedly very high on him, but if a player lacks the motivation to practice, study and play to their full capacity, then he’s a liability to the team. May the best five guys start come Week 1 versus the 49ers no matter who those five guys are.