Bears offensive tackle Teven Jenkins to undergo back surgery

Bears rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins will have surgery on his back Wednesday, according to head coach Matt Nagy.

Jenkins, a second-round draft pick in April, has yet to practice during training camp. He had participated in rookie minicamp and OTAs during May and June, but the team announced he was dealing with a back injury when training camp opened in late June.

Jenkins will have back surgery in the Chicago area, Nagy said, and the hope is he will be back sometime during the regular season.

Nagy declined to specify what Jenkins’ back injury is, saying he “can’t answer that” when asked directly. He also declined to specify when during the regular season the team might expect him to be back.

“From everything that I’m hearing, it sounds very, very positive that once [the surgery] is done ... things should be fixed and pretty good,” Nagy said. “That’s the good part in this whole thing.”

Jenkins was regularly spotted out at practice during camp and the team had hoped to avoid surgery.

The Bears traded up in the draft to select Jenkins with the 39th overall pick. They gave up their second-round pick, third-round pick and sixth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the 39th pick, which they used on Jenkins, and a fifth-round pick, which they used to select Missouri tackle Larry Borom.

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Jenkins, 23, also dealt with a back injury toward the end of his college season last year. He injured his back against Oklahoma on Nov. 21 and sat out the final three regular season games and Oklahoma State’s bowl game.

After selecting Jenkins in the draft, the Bears cut longtime left tackle Charles Leno days later, paving the way for Jenkins to win the left tackle job with limited competition. His injury has brought that plan to a screeching halt.

The Bears signed veteran offensive tackle Jason Peters earlier this week. The 18th-year veteran is a nine-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro. Following the 2020 season, the Philadelphia Eagles parted ways with Peters after 12 seasons. Peters is expected to join the Bears in practice Thursday.