Report: Bears have had trade talks about OT Teven Jenkins

The Bears have held and received calls regarding a trade involving offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday.

It’s been a controversial year for Jenkins, who was selected with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after the old Bears regime traded up for him. He missed most of his rookie season due to lingering back issues, playing in 6 games and starting in just two of them.

He served as a left tackle for Chicago last season, but once Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace were fired as head coach and general manager, respectively, Jenkins moved to his natural position of right tackle.

Though he showed promise in limited playing time, he received mostly second-team reps in practice, with Larry Borom — a fifth-round pick from Jenkins’ same draft class — starting at right tackle over him. Jenkins had missed significant action in recent weeks for undisclosed reasons, with the general belief being that he had been dealing with another injury. NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan also speculated on Saturday that there were concerns surrounding the lineman’s maturity.

This is obviously a brutal development for the Bears, who gave up significant draft capital to move from No. 52 to No. 39 for Jenkins just last year. Seen by most draft analysts as a likely first-round pick in the pre-draft process, the Oklahoma State alumnus dropped down boards and was the center of rumors surrounding medical concerns.

Rapoport mentioned Jenkins’ upside in his aforementioned report, and considering the flashes of power, athleticism and tenacity he showed in college and in spurts with the Bears, it’s likely that teams will be interested in the second-year blocker. Just how much teams are willing to give up for what can already be described as damaged goods remains to be seen, however.