The Bears placed rookie tackle Teven Jenkins on injured reserve Wednesday in a move that was expected after Jenkins had back surgery last month.
Jenkins dealt with back problems at Oklahoma State, but they did not keep the Bears from trading up to take Jenkins in the second round earlier this year. On Wednesday, General Manager Ryan Pace said Jenkins reported different symptoms this summer than he had in school and the team tried to relieve them via other routes before Jenkins opted for a “common surgery.”
Pace said the team remains optimistic about Jenkins’ future and that they’re confident they’ve fixed what was ailing him.
“Without getting into details, he started having some pain down his leg -- I think just from the nerve,” Pace said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. “The good thing? As soon as we did [the surgery], those symptoms went away. So we feel good about it. . . . And just because he had a back surgery doesn’t mean he’s not going to have a good NFL career. We’re excited about the player, excited about where he’s heading. Now we feel we fixed the problem.”
Bears fans with memories of the time Chris Williams, Gabe Carimi, and Marc Colombo spent in Chicago may not share that optimism about Jenkins’ future, but the Bears will be leaving the light on for the rookie.
