Has offensive lineman Teven Jenkins played his last game for the Chicago Bears?

LAKE FOREST – As he cleared out his locker at Halas Hall this week, Chicago Bears offensive lineman Teven Jenkins made it pretty clear where his head is at.

Asked if he’s preparing to hit free agency and potentially move to a new team, Jenkins said: “Mentally, yeah. Mentally I am, yeah.”

Now, that’s not necessarily what the 26-year-old guard wants to see happen. Asked what he wants, he said it’s a “toss up.”

“[I was] drafted here, of course,” Jenkins said. “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. I guess the good thing, not good thing, but 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.”

Bears general manager Ryan Poles could have signed Jenkins to a contract extension at any point over the past year. No such deal has come to fruition. That’s the biggest sign that the player and the team are likely to move on.

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The Bears drafted Jenkins with a second-round pick in 2021, the same draft when they selected quarterback Justin Fields. Former Bears GM Ryan Pace traded up for Fields and Jenkins during that draft.

Back then, the Bears viewed Jenkins as their left tackle of the future. The team literally cut starting left tackle Charles Leno days after the draft. Unfortunately, Jenkins never emerged as a viable starter at left tackle. Injuries derailed his career before it started.

Jenkins missed most of his rookie season with a back injury. When the Bears fired Pace and head coach Matt Nagy, Jenkins had to prove himself to Poles and Matt Eberflus. Not until Jenkins tested out a move to guard did he find a home for himself on the Bears' offensive line.

But injuries continued to hinder his career. This season, Jenkins missed the final two games with a calf injury and finished the year with 14 starts. That marked his career high. He totaled 45 appearances and 38 starts over four seasons in Chicago.

“It started it off rough,” Jenkins said of the 2024 season. “Definitely improved throughout the whole year, and then [injuries] 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.”

For Jenkins, that was a major frustration. He has tried numerous different approaches over the year. He tried changing his diet. He tried pilates to work on some of the smaller muscles in his body. Since the back surgery during his rookie season, there hasn’t been any one major injury, just an accumulation of small ones.

Definitely improved throughout the whole year, and then [injuries] 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.”

—  Teven Jenkins, Bears offensive lineman

Although he played more games than he ever has in 2024, it might not have been enough for the Bears to feel comfortable bringing him back.

“I wish it went a lot better,” Jenkins said of his time in Chicago. “A lot of things I could’ve done better myself. [There were] 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 of my part to where now there’s still questions. So I failed in that part.”

The price tags in free agency go up every single year. One of the 32 NFL teams will pay Jenkins. Starting-caliber offensive linemen don’t grow on trees. But the Bears have had a front-row seat to the ups and downs of Jenkins' tenure in Chicago.

While the Bears are likely to spend money on the offensive line during the offseason, they might be looking to spend that money on someone more reliable.

“There’s been some bright moments, there’s been some not-so-bright moments,” interim head coach Thomas Brown said when asked about Jenkins. “It’s always an unfortunate part to have guys who have injuries that can’t finish. That’s always tough as an athlete, obviously having been around it through my own experiences, but also seeing other guys go through it. But it’s also added motivation to be better for the future.”

It feels like that future, for Jenkins, might be somewhere other than Chicago.