Report: Interest Shown in Teven Jenkins

The mystery surrounding the Teven Jenkins situation sank closer to the point of no return Monday with a report by NFL Network that the Bears have held trade talks about 2021 second-round draft pick Teven Jenkins.

The report did not say the Bears initiated such talk, but Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network said other teams called and trade talk was held.

The difference is that the Bears haven't necessarily decided Jenkins must go if someoneelse is initiating this discussion.

Still, it's quite a drop for a player who was the 39th pick of last year's draft after the Bears chose to deal away the 52nd pick in Round 2, the 83rd pick in Round 3 and Pick No. 204 in Round 6 to slide up and take Jenkins while also receiving the 151st pick in Round 5.

Ironically, they used that 151st pick for tackle Larry Borom, who was keeping Jenkins off the first-team offensve line earlier in camp.

However, last week Jenkins did not practice on Friday or Saturday and again missed Monday's practice.

Garafolo called it "a situation to watch" in his report.

The Bears had thought of Jenkins last year as the left tackle of the future but that idea clearly vanished once Ryan Poles took over as GM and Matt Eberflus became coach.

The offseason started with Jenkins at left tackle with starters, the he was the backup right tackle when rookie Braxton Jones became the player practicing with starters.

Jones continues to get some first-team reps at left tackle but gradually they have begun to work Riley Reiff into that first-team spot after signing the former Lions-Vikings-Bengals tackle last week.

In the meantime, Jenkins suddenly came up with some type of injury. Coach Matt Eberflus has refused to discuss it but on an ESPN radio appearance he said Jenkins "woke up" with whatever this situation is that's now bothering him.

Over the weekend, Dave Kaplan of ESPN's WMVP radio in Chicago cited a "source" who labeled Jenkins' problem one of immaturity, among other things.

Bears center/guard Sam Mustipher on Monday said he has been in touch with Jenkins.

"Just keeping his head into things, doing whatever's required to get back on the football field," Mustipher said of Jenkins.

When Jenkins last spoke to reporters, he seemed committed to the plan of competing with Borom for right tackle.

"I play wherever they need me," he said at OTAs after Jones became No. 1. "Get in where you fit in."

Physically, Jenkins has issues that make it difficult for the Bears to use him at left tackle instead of Jones.

Jones has 35 3/8-inch arms with 10 1/4-inch hands, ideal for a left tackle. He also ran a 4.97-second 40-yard dash, which was in the top 7% of his line draft class.

Jenkins, meanwhile, has arms almost 2 inches shorter than Jones (33 1/2 inches). He's fast (5.01 seconds) but slower than Jones. He also has small 9 1/2-inch hands that were in the bottom 12% of his draft class. The arm length and hand size are critical at left tackle.

Using Reiff at left tackle isn't ideal since he's 33 years old but they played all last year with 40-year-old Jason Peters at the position.

Jenkins missed all of training camp and the first 11 games last year due to back surgery. When he returned, Jenkins allowed two sacks and committed seven penalties for 160 plays. The website Pro Football Focus gave Jenkins a low rookie grade of 47.5.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven