LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – Heading into his final season under contract with the Bears, left guard Teven Jenkins hoped to earn an extension with the team.
That never came to fruition for Jenkins across the 2024 season as he endured another injury-riddled campaign ahead of free agency this offseason. It has been four years of frustration for Jenkins with the Bears, and he’s now open to the possibility of finding a fresh start elsewhere.
“It was definitely a few positives,” Jenkins said Monday before holding his exit interview with Bears general manager Ryan Poles. “It started it off rough, definitely improved throughout the whole year, and then nicks and stuff always just got me again. That’s one thing that I needed to hammer and it’s something I wanted to improve, and it just didn’t happen.
“Drafted here, of course. Been through a lot of things here. Daughter was born here. A lot of things, I got a house here, everything. It’s like a homestay for me, I wanted to stay.
“The opposite side of that, I get a fresh start, new narrative, see if I can be who I want to be and see where I can go from there.”
A second-round pick of the Bears in 2021, Jenkins played in 45 games for the team across four seasons. His rookie season was limited to just six games after he underwent back surgery. Jenkins was converted from tackle to guard in his second season after Poles’ regime took over football operations.
Jenkins played in a career-high 14 games in the 2024 season but played around just 65% of the Bears’ offensive snaps in total while he was limited by multiple injuries. He missed the final two games of the season due to a calf injury.
In looking ahead to his future, Jenkins regrets how injuries derailed his hopes for a strong four years with the Bears.
“I wish it went a lot better,” Jenkins said. “A lot of things I could’ve done better myself. A lot of things I wanted to do at the beginning of the season like leave no doubt for the contract stuff. But I didn’t do enough for my part, where now there are still questions. So, I failed in that part.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on X @CEmma670.