When the Chicago Bears officially opened up the offseason, it was safe to say the team needed three starters across the offensive line.
Other than tackles Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones, the Bears didn't have anyone on the roster worthy of starting. That left all three interior spots open, which looked like a gaping hole and a tall task at first.
As it turns out, the Bears were prepared to fill those spots starting even before free agency opened up.
Tuesday, Chicago traded a sixth-round pick to acquire Los Angeles Rams guard Jonah Jackson. Wednesday, they followed it up by trading a future sixth rounder to land Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney, a three-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion.
You can go ahead and pencil the two of them in as the Bears' starting guards at this point, leaving just one remaining starting position to be filled. In making these two trades, though, it essentially solidifies the fact that Chicago is going to let one of their top free agents, Teven Jenkins, walk.
The Joe Thuney trade cemented Teven Jenkins' future outside of Chicago
Once the Bears announced their trade for Thuney, thus solidifying their starting guards, that basically signaled the fact that Jenkins will end up playing elsewhere in 2025.
There didn't seem to be a strong possibility of the Bears bringing Jenkins back to begin with, but there are going to be other teams that want to sign him as a starting guard, and the Bears currently do not need one.
It is wild to be writing that type of sentence before free agency even begins next week, but here we are. Poles went out and made a pair of moves in statement fashion, and now, Jenkins is as good as gone.
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Chicago still might see Jenkins more often than you think, though, as a team like the Minnesota Vikings makes a ton of sense for him. The Vikings could use an upgrade at the guard position and Jenkins wouldn't have to travel far for his next gig.
Regardless of where he ends up, though, one thing is almost certain: it won't be Chicago.
Now, the attention turns to Ryan Poles addressing the center position. Once that's done, the offensive line is going to look a whole lot different than it did a year ago.