Teven Jenkins’ present is as cloudy as his future. As it becomes increasingly unlikely that he has a place in the Bears’ rebuild, he also has remained out of sight for most of training camp.
Already facing long odds to win a starting job at either offensive tackle position and even the possibility that the Bears might cut him at the roster deadline, Jenkins missed his fifth consecutive practice Tuesday. He supposedly got hurt in the first practice, and coach Matt Eberflus hasn’t given any clarity on his situation.
The Bears continued to roll with fifth-round pick Braxton Jones at left tackle and Larry Borom at right. Veteran Riley Reiff also will begin vying for one of those spots once he’s through his individual ramp-up program, and there’s no doubt that general manager Ryan Poles is scanning other rosters for potential options.
Eberflus has continued to call Jenkins’ injury “day-to-day,” which is reminiscent of how former coach Matt Nagy described it a year ago all the way up to Jenkins having back surgery that kept him out for most of his rookie season.
Jenkins made it back for just six games last season, but that apparently provided enough film to spur Poles and Eberflus into alternate plans. Jones started getting first-team snaps over Jenkins during Organized Team Activities in May.
Former general manager Ryan Pace traded up to take Jenkins in the second round at No. 39 overall, saying he was “pretty fired up” to land him that late.