The arrival of Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney sent a clear message. Teven Jenkins would not be returning to the Chicago Bears. It is unfortunate that things have ended this way. The former 2nd round pick has always shown flashes of dominance since being drafted in 2021. Sadly, he never managed to stay healthy for any length of time. The new head coach, Ben Johnson, wanted guys with better track records of durability, or at least somebody with whom he was more familiar. That said, there is still a chance Jenkins could give the Bears one last assist.
Buzz is picking up that the Cincinnati Bengals are interested in Jenkins, which isn’t a surprise after they cut Alex Cappa. Projections have the former Bears guard commanding around $13 million per year on his next contract. It will nudge Chicago closer to a rare occurrence if that proves true.
Right now, the Bears have two signings that count against the compensatory pick formula for 2026. Darrell Taylor canceled one of them when he signed a deal with Houston. That leaves one remaining, which Jenkins could wipe out if he signs any deal north of $5 million.
Teven Jenkins did enough to make this possible.
Teven Jenkins could open the door for a compensatory pick. Presuming the Bears don’t sign another free agent who counts against the formula, all they would need is one of their own former players to sign a deal with another team worth at least $5 million per year. Right now, it looks like Coleman Shelton and Keenan Allen are the two most likely candidates to achieve this. Shelton recently signed a two-year deal with the Rams, but the numbers aren’t yet known. Allen hasn’t landed anywhere but will at some point soon.
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He won’t command huge money like in the past. Still, the former Pro Bowler should have no issue eclipsing the $5 million barrier. If so, the Bears could be looking at a 6th or 7th round compensatory pick, even more if the contract is hefty. Stacking draft picks is always important. GM Ryan Poles has traded away quite a few over the past year. Regardless of value, being able to get one back can’t be overlooked. Teven Jenkins is the key.
@Rick Deckard – I think most on here think that. I’m assuming waddle was just fishing on that. But I sure do want to know the truth. Usually when someone gets downvoted to those levels they get blocked on the site. CHGO I know does that. But there were alot of similarities and I just assumed it was SM drumming up interest through drama. Most people with souls will go away when they just get a lot of people calling them out and down voting them. That makes this very peculiar?
Erik Lambert —
The treatment of Teven Jenkins is Exhibit #1 in the case against Ryan Poles as a Clown GM — and you, as Poles’ suck-ass sycophant.
Jenkins was never given a fair shake. But of course, he never had coaches either. His injuries didn’t help, but then again, the fitness coach they had sucked. Oh well. The more I see of Eberflus the more he needs to take his HITS, philosophy and accountability and just get out of my memories.
@Waddlegena, How did you find out that Sallie/Gena are the same person? I have always suspected that they were the creation of people at Sports Mockery just to spice up the message board. Kind of like the bad guy in professional wrestling — the spectators need that to make it more fun. The comments of each went to an extreme. It had to all be a joke.
Wish you well, Teven!
Watch him stay healthy now and become a perennial Pro Bowler!