The Chicago Bears continued to test Teven Jenkins at right guard Tuesday during the team’s final practice before their preseason game Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks.
One day after getting second-team reps at the position, Jenkins took first-team reps there as the Bears try to find the right combination for their line.
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Before and after practice, coach Matt Eberflus, offensive line coach Chris Morgan and left guard Cody Whitehair talked about Jenkins’ move from offensive tackle and several other topics. Here are four things we heard.
The Bears have stressed the need to get their five best offensive linemen on the field as they tinker with different line options.
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Rookie Braxton Jones is getting an extended look at left tackle, and Riley Reiff and Larry Borom have split reps at right tackle — and can play at either side. So Jenkins’ best bet toward a roster spot might be showing his versatility to play guard and tackle.
The Bears have other options too. Veteran Michael Schofield started at right guard in the preseason opener, and Sam Mustipher also can play there, though he’s been at center while Lucas Patrick is injured. But Morgan said the coaches are excited to see what Jenkins can show them, and it will be worth watching to see how they use him against the Seahawks.
“He’s got great size,” Morgan said. “He’s got good strength. He’s a smart football player. Those are all things you want inside, that translate inside. Things move fast inside.”
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Monday guards carry a bigger mental load in his system and thinks Jenkins, a 2021 second-round pick out of Oklahoma State, can handle it. Whitehair is lending advice wherever he can as Jenkins dives into the new role.
“There’s just a lot more getting to the second level, making sure that you’re on the same page with protection calls and stuff like that,” Whitehair said of the challenges in Getsy’s system. “The other systems I was in, you didn’t quite have to use your eyes as much at guard. But there’s a lot of responsibility that your eyes have to be right as far as getting to the second level and seeing different blitzes.”
Eberflus called Jenkins a smart, athletic player, adding he’s told his staff to not put a ceiling on a player. It’s a mantra Eberflus learned from one of his mentors, and he applied it to Jenkins trying to learn a new position after missing significant time at tackle last season with a back injury and some practices this training camp with an undisclosed injury.
“Let him grow. Let him do his thing because some people mature and grow at different times and all of a sudden they just grow into a really good NFL player,” Eberflus said. “And that’s for any position. We’re never going to put ceilings on guys. We’re always going to think the best for every player.”
Jones only has been with the Bears for three-plus months, but the fifth-round pick from Southern Utah clearly has won some people over in his quest to be the starting left tackle, a job that could have gone to Reiff, Borom or Jenkins.
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“Our department did a really good job of finding him,” Whitehair said. “They knew what they were looking for. I think they found a good one in him.
“The way he studies, the way he understands stuff. He’s very athletic, he’s got great length, he uses his hands well. I really like where Braxton’s at right now. He’s only going to continue to grow and I’m really excited to see that growth.”
Morgan said Jones is wired to get better every day, so he wasn’t surprised how quickly the rookie caught on.
“He really has a clear vision of his process,” Morgan said. “He has a clear vision of how he wants to attack it. He’s got a clear vision of how to measure himself day to day.”
Eberflus didn’t specify what Kramer’s injury was after the lineman missed practice Monday and Tuesday, but said Kramer would be out for an extended period of time. The team placed Kramer on injured reserve Tuesday. The Tribune’s Brad Biggs reported the team feared it could be a Lisfranc injury in Kramer’s foot, which would put Kramer’s season in jeopardy.
Kramer, a 2022 sixth-round pick out of Illinois, played 73% of Bears offensive snaps in the preseason opener. He had been backing up Mustipher at center.
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As the Bears seek to become quicker and lighter on the offensive line, Borom said his target weight of 320 is about 15 pounds lighter than last season.
Morgan praised the way Borom went about remaking his body and pointed to his even mindset as an attribute that’s helped him as he works at both tackle spots.
“Larry did a heck of a job in the offseason putting himself in position to come out and compete,” Morgan said. “You just appreciate his mindset. He is going to try to get better every day. He has a great day, it doesn’t matter. He had a bad day, it doesn’t matter. I commend him on that. That’s a mental toughness attribute to me, and he’s doing a really nice job of jumping from right to left.”
