Teven Jenkins says return to Bears is 'toss up' ahead of free agency

Having been riddled by injuries throughout his tenure with the Chicago Bears, left guard Teven Jenkins is approaching his first free agency experience with an open mind.

During the 2024 season, Jenkins played a career-high 738 snaps, which was still less than 65% of the offensive plays that were ran by the team this season.

Since being drafted in the second round by the Bears in the 2021 NFL draft, Jenkins has played in 45 out of 68 possible games, including 38 starts, and only played a full game in 24 of those. Availability may have been Jenkins' best ability, if he was ever able to do so. All in all, Jenkins lost much of his leverage with teams in free agency because he's been unable to stay on the field.

During his time with Chicago, Jenkins could not stay on the field. That not only hurt his possible chances to stay with the team that drafted him, but it could make teams hesitate on the type of contract they'll offer him in free agency.

When meeting with the media on Monday for his exit interview, Jenkins was asked about possibility returning to the Bears next season.

"Toss up," Jenkins said, noting it's 50-50 if he wants to return to Chicago. "We'll see how things go, how things play out. Drafted here, of course. I've been through a lot of things here [Chicago], daughter was born here. I have a house here, I have everything. It's like a home stay, wanting to stay. Opposite side of that, I get a fresh start, get a new narrative, see if I can be who I want to be and see where I can go from there."

The other side of the pending free agency for Jenkins is if the Bears indeed want to bring him back, at what cost? They could explore a one-year, prove-it deal to see if he can remain healthy, or they could let him walk and allocate all offseason resources to upgrading their interior offensive line.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Teven Jenkins says return to Bears is 'toss up' ahead of free agency