Entering the final year of his contract, guard Teven Jenkins is among the most obvious Bears players to entertain a contract extension between now and the start of training camp.
Nothing is imminent, though.
“We reached out,” Jenkins said Wednesday, “but nothing is on the table.”
At least not yet. Asked how he felt about the lack of action from general manager Ryan Poles, Jenkins said he was “up in the air” about it.
Poles has rewarded his own players in the last year, extending tight end Cole Kmet, defensive end Montez Sweat, nose tackle Andrew Billings, kicker Cairo Santos and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
“I mean, it’s good to see that stuff — that the Bears are willing to do that,” Jenkins said. “But every situation is different. We have to go about it, me and my agent, however ‘upstairs’ wants to do it.”
Jenkins started 11 games for the second straight year last season after starting out on injured reserve because of a calf problem.
He played 455 snaps at left guard and, in part because Nate Davis had a high-ankle sprain, another 276 snaps at right guard. Pro Football Focus graded him out as the 14th-best guard in the NFL.
Jenkins knows there are questions about his durability; in three seasons since the Bears traded up to draft him in Round 2, he’s played in 31 of the Bears’ 51 games.
“Stay healthy,” he said. “That’s No. 1 and of the utmost importance for me right now. Stay healthy, get through the whole 17 games and continue my strong play from last year, and be a more consistent, reliable guy.”
Davis in team drills
Davis participated briefly in team drills during Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp practice after not doing so a day earlier. Asked about right guard, coach Matt Eberflus simply listed Davis among other linemen — Ryan Bates and Matt Pryor chief among them — before touting the versatility of the unit.
That prompted a follow-up: Davis is still the presumed starter, right?
“He has been our starter, right?” Eberflus said. “So I expect him to be in there.”
Davis has an $11.4 million salary cap hit this year.
New No. 1
The Bears have a new No. 1 in Johnson, who changed his jersey from No. 33 to Justin Fields’ old number this offseason.
“I wore it in middle school, then in high school and then of course in college,” Johnson said.
“Coming back home feels good. I feel like it looks good as well.”
This and that
- Kmet and left tackle Braxton Jones were both held out of Wednesday’s practice with unspecified injuries. Kmet spent time on a stationary bike but Jones wasn’t spotted Wednesday. Eberflus said both moves were precautionary and that he expected both players to be healthy enough to do conditioning this summer.
- Cornerback Kyler Gordon broke his right hand in the season opener and had surgery the next week. It’s still not fully back to normal. “I give it like 90%,” he said. “I think I’ll be good by the season. That’s nothing concerning me or restricting me or anything. I can still pick the ball, do everything …. No it’s not holding back at all, but we’re getting there. Just a little scar tissue.”
- Rookie punter Tory Taylor put on a show, pinning kicks inside the 5-yard line consistently. Some of his punts even rolled sideways along the 1-yard line. Another kick rolled along the goal line before eventually going into the end zone. That’s cool,” Eberflus said. “He’s like a trick shot guy. It’s like, wow, the spin he could put on it. … Really amazing. So, it’s fun to watch.”
