The Chicago Bears should try to trade Teven Jenkins to this team

One of the biggest stories in the early goings of Chicago Bears training camp is second-year offensive lineman Teven Jenkins’ absence from practice.

Last year’s second-round pick has missed three-straight practices which is concerning for the team as a whole.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus mentioned Jenkins is dealing with a minor injury. Jenkins missed most of last season because of a back issue that required surgery.

David Kaplan of ESPN 1000 and NBC Sports Chicago is reporting Jenkins is missing practice because of maturity issues.

https://twitter.com/thekapman/status/1553772505852248064?s=21&t=3nZiej2aR27RbwzDsxdKQQ

Jenkins was drafted by previous general manager Ryan Pace to replace veteran Charles Leno at left tackle. It was a big gamble as Pace traded up to draft a lineman with limited experience at one of the most important positions on the offensive line.

Now it appears with new general manager Ryan Poles in place and a brand new coaching staff, Jenkins is having an issue. This is not the first time coaches have questioned Jenkins’ maturity.

The Chicago Bears should consider trading Teven Jenkins at this point.

The Bears have a lineman with reported maturity issues and injury history. While it is probably too early in Jenkins’ career to pull the plug on his Bears tenure, there are indications Jenkins could already be on the outside looking in when it comes to who makes the team along the offensive line.

The Bears signed veteran Riley Reiff right before training camp started. He projects as the probable starter at left tackle. Larry Borom, last year’s fifth-round pick, seems slotted to start at right tackle.

Braxton Jones, this year’s fifth-round pick jumped Jenkins on the depth chart during minicamp and was getting reps with the “1’s” during the first couple of training camp practices. The Bears also have veteran Julien Davenport to fill the swing tackle role.

Jenkins could move inside but the Chicago Bears have Cody Whitehair and recently signed Michael Scholfield entrenched as the starters. Sam Mustipher also has a good chance of making the team based on his versatility to play center and guard. Plus, the Bears have two draft picks from this year’s draft class that can fill depth needs.

While Ja’Trye Carter and Zachary Thomas were late-round picks, they were drafted by Poles. Jenkins was not.

The new administration does not have the investment in Jenkins like the previous one did. While Kaplan reported that the Bears feel Jenkins is one of the most talented offensive linemen on the roster, they have no loyalty to him.

Ryan Pace is now part of the Atlanta Falcons front office. He seems to be exerting a lot of influence on the Falcons’ roster.

The Falcons’ offensive line gave up 40 sacks last season. Right tackle Caleb McGary and left guard Jalen Mayfield struggled last season. McGary is set to be a free agent after the season.

This is just speculation here but with rumblings that Jenkins’ days aren’t going well, would Pace be tempted to convince his bosses in Atlanta to take a chance on him?

At this point, the most the Chicago Bears could probably get for Jenkins is a conditional future late-round pick so the return is going to be equal to a penny on the dollar. Getting a conditional pick back is better than just cutting Jenkins and seeing him possibly flourish with another team.

Pace was high on Jenkins even after his back surgery and believed he could be a really good left tackle when most thought Jenkins was better suited to the right side.

Plus, this has been an offseason where Ryan Poles has been cleaning up the mess Pace left behind. Pace does not owe Poles or the Bears anything but it would be nice if he at least did the Chicago Bears a solid and take Jenkins off their hands.

At the very least, it would make up for drafting Mitchell Trubisky. Okay, okay, that is not how NFL transactions work. Pace should at least be willing to give Jenkins’ NFL career a second chance.