Bears notes: Rookie Teven Jenkins ‘wants to be out here bad’

Jenkins wants to be on the field. The Bears, though, want to make sure their second-round pick is ready when it counts.

SHARE Bears notes: Rookie Teven Jenkins ‘wants to be out here bad’
The Bears signed Teven Jenkins on Wednesday.

Bears left tackle Teven Jenkins has a sore back.

David Banks/AP

Teven Jenkins wants to be on the field. The Bears, though, want to make sure their rookie left tackle is ready when it counts: in padded practices that start Monday. Jenkins, a second-round pick in April, remained out of training-camp practice Friday with a sore back.

“Trust me, he wants to be out there, but we have to control him from himself, and that’s what we’re going to do here as we go through training camp,” coach Matt Nagy said. “But obviously, the sooner the better.”

As for the back injury, Nagy said the Bears “want to make sure we are taking care of it the right way by listening to him, listening to our doctors and our trainers and just taking it day by day.”

When Jenkins returns, he’ll have a handful waiting for him: veteran edge rushers Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn. Nagy praised Quinn’s play in camp thus far after he had an underwhelming first season with the Bears.

“Robert Quinn is doing well,” Nagy said. “You put on the tape and watch him — he’s rolling right now. And I’ve got to actually tell him to pull the heck back a little bit because he’s getting in that throwing lane with the quarterback and we had a couple close ones [Thursday]. . . .  

“Teven needs that. He’s got to be able to have that. But we’ve got a lot of days here ahead of us, and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it the right way. And again, I just want to make it loud and clear: He wants to be out here bad, but we’re holding him back. We’ve got to do it this way.”

Foles of use to Colts?

The Bears undoubtedly will be monitoring the health of Colts quarterback Carson Wentz, who hurt his foot Thursday and will see a specialist, according to NFL Network. 

Wentz’s absence leaves the Colts with three healthy quarterbacks who have zero pass attempts in NFL games. It’s unclear whether the Colts have interest in Nick Foles, who’s overqualified and overpaid as the Bears’ third-stringer, but there’s a strong connection: Colts coach Frank Reich was Foles’ offensive coordinator on the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship team four years ago. Last year, Foles called Reich “the one who really figured me out as a player.”

Here’s Hicks

Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks practiced in full Friday after missing practice Thursday with what Nagy described as a sore foot.

“We just wanted to make sure that everything was good [Thursday],” Nagy said. “And that looks like that’s the case.”

Hicks was in attendance for the Bears’ first practice — a walkthrough — Wednesday. The team didn’t indicate a reason for his absence Thursday until Friday.

This and that

  • Quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, who is vaccinated for COVID-19, continued to watch practice remotely Friday while in coronavirus protocol. “Flip lives for one thing — that’s individual drills for 15 minutes with those quarterbacks,” Nagy said. “That’s all he cares about. And he can’t do that right now because he’s on a computer [and] Zoom.”
  • Safety Eddie Jackson (hamstring), running back Tarik Cohen (knee) and tackle Germain Ifedi (hip) remained out. 
  • Former Loyola basketball All-American Cameron Krutwig was at Halas Hall to watch practice Friday.
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