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Bears rookie OT Jenkins goes through pregame workout in Pittsburgh

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PITTSBURGH — The Bears’ plan for 2021 was to rebuild the edges of their offensive line with two highly regarded rookies on their draft board.

Nine weeks into the season, they might be getting closer to actually putting both players on the field.

One week after getting fifth-round pick Larry Borom back from a high ankle sprain, second-round pick Teven Jenkins went through a strenuous workout at Heinz Field before the Bears’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night. Jenkins hasn’t been able to practice since the offseason program and underwent back surgery in August after treatments failed to work during training camp.

During the workout in Pittsburgh, Jenkins appeared to be moving well and practiced pass sets from both the left and right sides. Considering he was dealing with a back injury for months, the 6-6, 321-pound offensive tackle has a lot of work to do to regain his strength and conditioning.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy hasn’t provided any updates on Jenkins since announcing the surgery in August. At the time, he called the procedure “common” and expected Jenkins to return at some point this season.

“It sounds like once this happens and you get the surgery, that things should be fixed and pretty good. That’s the good part in this whole thing,” Nagy said.

Jenkins had back issues at Oklahoma State, which the Bears were aware of before drafting him, but they were confident the offensive tackle was worth trading up for with the 39th overall pick in the second round.

Jenkins remains on injured reserve, but it’s possible the Bears open up the 21-day practice window following the team’s bye week. If Jenkins is able to play this season, it will be interesting to see how he is deployed. Borom has taken over the starting right tackle job the last two weeks and 39-year-old Jason Peters has been the Bears’ best offensive lineman this season at left tackle. Borom played briefly at left tackle in Week 1 when Peters got hurt, but then suffered the ankle injury that sidelined him for six games.

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