Chicago Bears offensive tackle Teven Jenkins will return to practice Monday afternoon at Halas Hall, with the team opening its 21-day window to activate him from injured reserve.
Jenkins has been out with a back injury since the Bears reported to training camp in late July. He had surgery Aug. 18 and was placed on IR when the regular season began.
Bears coach Matt Nagy said he was looking forward to testing Jenkins out and getting a better feel for where the rookie’s strength and conditioning are at now.
“It’s been a while since Teven’s put the pads on, so we’ll start there,” Nagy said. “I know he’s really anxious and excited to get out there.”
After missing three-and-a-half months, coaches will have to find the most productive way to transition Jenkins back into action while making sure the rookie tackle doesn’t try too hard to make up for lost time in his first few days.
Said Nagy: “We have to be able to temper him a little bit and calm him down and protect him from himself. You’ve got the mental side. You’ve got the physical side. But it’s also us communicating with him and saying, ‘How did you feel today?’ And we’ll see it in on tape. We’ll see how he is.
“He’s a competitor. You all saw that when we drafted him. You see the type of mean streak he has. You see how much he loves football, how much his teammates really appreciate him and how he appreciates them. So I think what will happen is it will all just play itself out.”
Coming off their Week 10 bye, the Bears return to work with a short 1 p.m. practice in Lake Forest and now have three weeks to either move Jenkins to their 53-man roster or shut him down for the remainder of the season.
The Bears traded up 13 spots to select Jenkins at No. 39 overall in the second round of April’s draft, sending the Carolina Panthers the No. 52 selection plus third- and sixth-round picks while also receiving a fifth-round pick in return. They had designs on molding Jenkins into their starting left tackle before the back issue derailed things this summer.
Now, however, the dynamics of the Bears offensive line are markedly different. After difficulties stabilizing the left tackle position during training camp, the team signed 18-year veteran Jason Peters in August. Peters, who will turn 40 in January, has started every game this season, providing both stability and leadership up front.
Rookie Larry Borom, meanwhile, has started the last two games at right tackle and continues to impress the coaching staff with his poise and continued growth.
In other words, even if Jenkins is activated off IR in the next three weeks, he may not see the field on game days right away with the team needing to figure out where his best niche is for both the short and long term.
“When you start getting guys back, it provides some depth,” Nagy said. “And this is a physical game. … So for us now with Teven, it’s letting him get back into practice and see what feels good and what feels right. But he does look good. I feel like strength-wise, without pads on, he looks pretty good.”