Chicago Bears guard Teven Jenkins sounds locked in and confident

It’s been a wild ride for second-year pro Teven Jenkins. Over the past month or so, the Chicago Bears’ 2021 2nd round pick has dealt with plenty of adversity.

As it stands, though, Jenkins looks to be the starting right guard for the Bears and most are moving forward with that assumption as the regular season looms near.

Following practice on Thursday, Jenkins spoke to the media and opened up about his current state of mind after all of the trade rumors, missing the first portion of training camp with an injury and now fighting for his future.

After the presser was over, most could conclude that Jenkins seems to be in a healthy state of mind and is doing everything he can to be the best player possible.

If the Chicago Bears get a healthy and locked-in Teven Jenkins, the entire saga will be forgotten in a hurry.

With the way the offensive line has looked, it’s safe to say that the Bears need him to play well and start at right guard, and that’s exactly how it appears to be going.

Right away when speaking to the media, Jenkins credited his loved ones, saying his fiancé is the main reason he’s been able to stay grounded.

“She’s my rock right now… I’m really grateful for her.”

He was later asked about his time learning the guard position as opposed to being on the edge at tackle. Jenkins has always been known to be a smart football player, so his answer was right on par.

“Ultimately, the goal is to make sure everybody knows every call … but, understanding that the guard has different calls in certain situations … a lot of it has to do with your eyes and being able to communicate with your tackle … understanding blitz looks…”

It’s clear he’s looking to help everyone up front learn and gel together.

Jenkins was also asked if he expected to be the starting right guard on September 11 and answered it rather humbly.

“I’m never one to say ‘Yeah, that’s MY job…that just sets up for bad chemistry. I’m not one to do that.’”

He did say that it’s up to him to keep being physical and playing well enough to earn the job. But, hearing him stay humble and refuse to buy into an easy “headline question” from the media was a positive.

Towards the end of his press conference, Jenkins simply left us with this:

”This is my career. This is my life. I have to take hold of it.”

For his sake, and the Bears’ sake, let’s hope Jenkins not only stays healthy, but continues to stay locked in and develops into a cornerstone piece for this franchise.