Extension Candidate: D.J. Moore
D.J. Moore was a key part of the package the Panthers sent the Bears to acquire the No. 1 pick in 2023. He is attached to a contract which came before the position’s market surged, though, which could put him in line to command a raise in the relatively near future.
Moore, 27, topped 1,100 yards three times during his five-year tenure in Carolina. The Panthers were not looking to move on from him shortly after he inked his current contract, but the fact he was no longer on his rookie deal factored into the Bears’ insistence he was part of the blockbuster swap. Arriving in Chicago as the team’s No. 1 wideout, Moore enjoyed a career year last season. 
The former first-rounder set a new personal best in catches (96), yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight) in 2023 despite the Bears’ QB situation being less than ideal. That has been the case for much of Moore’s career, although Caleb Williams could change that. This year’s top pick enters the league with major expectations, but the presence of a well-regarded skill group may limit what he needs to do as a rookie for the Bears to be successful.
Chicago traded for Keenan Allen before following up the Williams pick with the selection of Rome Odunze. The former has one year on his current deal while the latter will be cost-controlled through at least 2027. Moore, meanwhile, has two years remaining on his $61.88MM extension. While there is no need for urgency this summer, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic notes the Maryland product is a strong candidate for an extension based on his play along with his high standing in the organization (subscription required).
Moore is due just over $16MM in 2024 and ’25, but only $1.11MM of his base salaries in that span are guaranteed. In terms of annual average value, he now sits 17th in the league with respect to receiver compensation (a ranking which will drop further once the likes of CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase and Brandon Aiyuk sign their own second contracts). A deal keeping him place through the remainder of his prime and tying him to Chicago while Williams is on his rookie pact would be sensible for team and player based on Moore’s first year in the Windy City.
On the other hand, the presence of Allen (who is interested in a market-level Bears deal) and Odunze could lessen Moore’s role on offense. General manager Ryan Poles may prefer to wait out the 2024 season and see how the team’s new offensive playmakers fit before committing to a Moore deal. In the event that were to take place, though, another productive year could up his asking price in the wake of continued increases in the receiver market.
Two agents Fishbain spoke with (but who do not represent Moore) used Calvin Ridley‘s Titans deal (four years, $92MM) as a comparable deal. Moore – who is two years younger and has a nearly identical yards per game average for his career – could certainly command a raise if a short-term deal were to be worked out by tacking on a few years to the remainder of his current pact. The agents suggested a two-year, $60MM top-up could be an appropriate figure in this case.
With considerable cap space now and in the near future, the Bears can certainly afford a big-ticket Moore investment. It will be interesting to see if Poles and the Bears pursue an agreement over the course of the summer or take a more patient approach with him.
NFC North Notes: Bears, Vikings, Love
Last year, the Bears became the Eagles’ gateway to Jalen Carter by trading down one spot and picking up an additional fourth-rounder from the NFC East team. GM Ryan Poles referenced this transaction when contacting Falcons GM Terry Fontenot during Round 1 this year. The third-year Chicago front office boss called the fourth-year Atlanta decision-maker about a move from No. 9 to No. 8, via The33rdteam.com’s Ari Meirov, with the aim to lock down Rome Odunze draft real estate. With plans on selecting Odunze’s college QB at No. 8 — to the surprise of most — Fontentot declined Poles’ offer and chose Michael Penix Jr.
The Jets (at No. 10) were also interested in Odunze, shifting to the offensive line once the Bears chose the high-end WR prospect at 9, with Poles undoubtedly aware of the AFC East club’s aim of adding another Aaron Rodgers weapon. A pre-draft report also pointed to the Colts’ interest in trading up for a playmaker; GM Chris Ballard confirmed he made “big offers” to move up from 15. After a dominant final season at Washington, Odunze rounds out a promising Bears receiving corps that includes D.J. Moore and trade pickup Keenan Allen. The Bears, who experimented with Odunze as a punt returner during their offseason program (per ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin), could have the Pac-12 product on a rookie deal through 2028 via the fifth-year option.
Here is the latest from the NFC North:
- For a second straight offseason, Dalton Risner‘s market underwhelmed. This led to the sixth-year guard changing agents, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, as he sought an upper-echelon agreement only to see nothing close come his way. The Vikings blocker called this a “frustrating” offseason, noting (via KSTP’s Darren Wolfson) he was surprised how little interest came his way — during an offseason that featured five free agent guards sign for at least $10MM per year. This mirrored his 2023 offseason, which did not see a deal come together until September. Risner started four seasons in Denver and worked as an 11-game Minnesota starter, with the Vikes trading Ezra Cleveland to the Jaguars, last season. Risner, 29 next month, is attached to a one-year, $2.41MM deal that includes playing time-based incentives.
- While Risner will compete with Blake Brandel for Minnesota’s left guard job, Jordan Addison is a locked-in starter. Addison impressed despite Kirk Cousins‘ injury last season, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes the former USC and Pitt wideout’s offseason growth has turned heads at the Vikings’ facility. During a season that featured an extended Justin Jefferson absence and the Vikes starting four QBs, Addison totaled 911 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. The 2023 first-rounder’s rookie deal will now pair with Jefferson’s market-setting extension, and Sam Darnold — before a likely baton pass to J.J. McCarthy — will have a promising WR duo to target this season.
- The Bears drafting Odunze meant a long wait for defensive help, and the team extended the wait after taking O-lineman Kiran Amegadjie in Round 3 and punter Tory Taylor in Round 4. Montez Sweat is in place as Chicago’s pass-rushing anchor, and Andrew Billings is poised to start once again. Beyond that, the Bears feature some question marks. A late-summer addition at DE and/or DT may be something the team will consider, per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, if they do not see enough early in training camp. A Yannick Ngakoue reunion could be on the table. Chicago has Gervon Dexter and veteran DeMarcus Walker on track for regular roles, with Fishbain adding veteran pickup Jacob Martin‘s fit will also determine whether the team needs to make another move.
- Although Jordan Love is expected to join the $50MM-per-year club, the Packers QB is only going into his second starter season. On that end, Matt LaFleur added 7-on-7 periods during practice to help his passer’s development, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky notes. LaFleur has resisted implementing this common offseason drill due to the lack of a pass rush impacting decisions, noting an emphasis on Love’s footwork for dusting off the passing period.
Latest On Bears RB Khalil Herbert
The Bears’ decision to let David Montgomery depart in free agency last offseason created a vacancy in the backfield. During the summer, signs pointed to Khalil Herbert taking over starting duties, but he could find himself in a much different roster situation in 2024. 
The latter showed plenty of potential in 2022 with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. In Montgomery’s absence, Herbert logged three more carries in 2023 than he did the season prior, but his efficiency saw a notable decline (4.6 yards per attempt). Now entering the final year of his rookie contract, Herbert may need to use training camp to solidify a spot on the depth chart.
Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic note the 26-year-old could be on the roster bubble this summer (subscription required). With the Bears having been one of the most aggressive RB-needy teams in the league during free agency this offseason, Herbert’s path to a starting role has been eliminated. D’Andre Swift had a career year with the Eagles in 2023, and he parlayed that into a three-year, $24MM deal. The former Lion will be expected to handle a heavy workload in Chicago.
The Bears also have veterans Khari Blasingame and Travis Homer as depth options to consider alongside Swift, Herbert and Roschon Johnson. The latter was selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft, and he racked up 561 scrimmage yards while logging a 40% offensive snap share. Johnson could be in line for an uptick in usage, something which could come at the expense of Herbert’s opportunities.
The former sixth-rounder played a full season as a rookie, but he has missed a combined nine contests since then. Herbert served as the Bears’ kick returner in 2021, averaging 24.1 yards per return that year. After not seeing any special teams usage last season, Herbert’s ability to secure a spot could be tied to his third phase experience. As Jahns and Fishbain unsurprisingly note, much of the team’s final decision at the running back spot will likely come down to special teams contributions.
Herbert’s experience could make him attractive depth option if the Bears were to trade or release him, although an acquiring team would be adding him only for the 2024 campaign. Presuming Swift stays healthy and handles RB1 duties, Herbert’s free agent stock would take a hit ahead of a potential departure next spring.
Bears To Feature Training Camp Center Competition; RG Spot Uncertain?
The Bears have two veteran options for their center spot, adding both players — Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton — this offseason. These additions have not produced a starter-swingman hierarchy just yet, with a training camp battle on tap.
Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan said (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns) Bates and Shelton will match up for the job once the pads come on. The Bears have eyed Bates for a bit, having signed him to an RFA offer sheet — one the Bills ended up matching — in 2022. But the veteran guard worked as a Buffalo backup in 2023. Shelton, conversely, worked as a starter throughout last season with the Rams.
Before Chicago’s offseason program began, a rumor pointed to Bates having a better shot at claiming the job despite his 2023 second-string role. The Bears designed his current four-year, $17MM contract, and although the team changed offensive coordinators since that point, Morgan remains in place as Chicago’s O-line coach. Shelton signed a one-year, $3MM Bears deal.
Bates, 27, has made 19 career starts. Almost all of those came in 2022, when the Bills matched the offer sheet. Pro Football Focus ranked Bates 41st among guards in 2022, and he lost a position battle to second-round pick O’Cyrus Torrence. The latter’s assimilation provided the Bills some stability, and they deemed Bates expendable (for a fifth-round pick) this offseason. Although the Bills rostered Mitch Morse throughout Bates’ Buffalo stay, Bates saw 135 snaps at center in 2022 and played there sparingly in 2021 and ’23.
Shelton, 29 next month, started all 18 Rams games last season and made 13 starts for an injury-battered 2022 Los Angeles team. While the Rams were interested in re-signing Shelton, they doled out two high-priced guard deals (to Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson) and are moving Steve Avila to center. A former UDFA, Shelton only played center in 2023; PFF slotted him 17th at the position. Shelton played mostly center for the Rams in 2022, but he also logged 258 snaps at guard. Shelton and Bates’ guard work could be notable as well.
The Bears gave four-year Titans starter Nate Davis a three-year, $30MM pact and installed him at right guard, moving ascending blocker Teven Jenkins to left guard last year. PFF slotted Davis 58th among guards in his Bears debut, and Jahns expects the team to have the former Tennessee starter battle for a starting job as well. Davis’ $8.75MM 2024 base salary is guaranteed; his 2025 compensation is not.
On Titans teams that regularly battled extensive injury trouble, Davis did miss 12 regular-season games from 2019-22. He started 54 over the course of his rookie contract, however, and impressed, leading to the Bears authorizing $17.5MM guaranteed at signing. An additional $1.75MM locked in for Davis in March. But the former third-round pick missed six games last season.
Third-round pick Kiram Amegadjie played guard at points at Yale, though he his final full season (2022) came at left tackle. His final college season ended early due to quad surgery. An Ivy League-to-NFL transition will naturally be difficult, especially coming off injury, but Amegadjie could also give the Bears an option at some point.
The door may well be open for both Bates and Shelton to start in 2024, with Amegadjie a wild card as a developmental blocker. Though, Davis certainly will have a chance to keep his job.
Bears Committed To Tyson Bagent As Backup Quarterback
Tyson Bagent made the rare climb from the Division II level to seeing rookie-year starts as a quarterback. Although the Bears have changed offensive play-callers since Bagent’s cameo in relief of Justin Fields, they remain committed to the former UDFA.
Chicago certainly changed up its QB room this offseason by making the unsurprising move to draft Caleb Williams first overall. The team added Brett Rypien, who is now entering his sixth NFL season. The Rypien move is not expected to affect Bagent’s status, with The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain noting there does not appear to be a competition for the Bears’ QB2 post (subscription required). As the only Bears QB returning from 2023, Bagent should not expect a change to his role.
Rypien could settle in as Chicago’s emergency third QB. Another tweak to the NFL’s rule involving emergency passers will allow teams to stash their emergency option on the practice squad and elevate that player continually. Teams will not need to pass their QB3s through waivers. Waivers would not apply to Rypien, who is a vested veteran, but the Bears would take a risk if they kept Rypien and exposed Bagent to waivers come August. But based on how the Bears structured their reps during their offseason program, Fishbain points to a clear Williams-Bagent-Rypien hierarchy — with Rypien on the practice squad as the emergency QB — being in place.
Bagent beat out both P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman to be Fields’ top backup last year. His early work, as could be expected, featured some stumbles. While Bagent averaged only six yards per attempt and closed his four-game starter offering with three touchdown passes and six interceptions, the Bears did win two games with the Shepherd alum at the controls. Bagent also completed 65.7% of his passes, though he has been tasked with developing in new OC Shane Waldron‘s system.
Chicago added Rypien on a one-year, $1.1MM deal that includes no guaranteed money. The former Broncos backup spent the 2023 season with three teams. The Rams waived him after a rough start in Green Bay, and he made his way to the Seahawks’ practice squad — under then-Seattle OC Waldron — before the QB-needy Jets plucked him for their 53-man roster to close the season.
The Bears are currently carrying four QBs on their 90-man offseason roster. Rookie UDFA Austin Reed represents the least experienced option; he appears to be vying for a P-squad gig. The 16-man taxi squad era (since 2020) has given teams more flexibility, but even with the expanded P-squads and the recently reimplemented emergency-QB rule, carrying four passers has not been standard practice. Reed and Rypien may well be competing for one spot.
Reed spent the past two seasons as Western Kentucky’s starter, taking over for Bailey Zappe in the Hilltoppers’ pass-happy system. Reed’s numbers did not match Zappe’s record-setting 2021 slate — though, he did throw 71 TD passes from 2022-23 — but he did enough to convince the Bears to add him post-draft. It would still be a stretch for the Bears to use two young UDFAs as Williams’ backups; Rypien’s experience would stand to benefit him given the current Chicago QB room’s makeup.
Bagent can be retained on a rookie deal, through the ERFA and RFA channels, through 2026. The Bears could form a steady QB1-QB2 arrangement for a few years, should the second-year player keep impressing as the backup arm. Training camp represents Bagent’s next window to do so, but barring a significant step back, it appears the backup gig is his to lose.
Ten Unsigned 2024 Draft Picks Remain
The NFL collectively is ahead of where it was last year with regards to draft signings. Teams have navigated the guarantee issue second-round contracts presented in recent years. Unlike 2023, when 30 players were unsigned in late June and nearly half the second round was without contracts entering July, we are down to 10 unsigned rookies from the 2024 class. Here is the lot still without NFL contracts:
Round 1:
- No. 1 (Bears): Caleb Williams (QB, USC)
- No. 8 (Falcons): Michael Penix Jr (QB, Washington)
- No. 9 (Bears): Rome Odunze (WR, Washington)
- No 10 (Vikings): J.J. McCarthy (QB, Michigan)
- No. 17 (Vikings): Dallas Turner (EDGE, Alabama)
- No. 18 (Bengals): Amarius Mims (T, Georgia)
- No. 31 (49ers): Ricky Pearsall (WR, Florida)
Round 2:
- No. 34 (Chargers): Ladd McConkey (WR, Georgia)
Round 3:
- No. 65 (Jets): Malachi Corley (WR, Western Kentucky)
- No. 66 (Cardinals): Trey Benson, RB (Florida State)
The clearest difference between this year and last comes from the second round. On June 17, 2023, half the second-rounders were unsigned. The 2011 CBA introducing the slot system has removed most of the drama from rookie-deal negotiations, but second-rounders continue to make guarantee gains. This contractual component has complicated matters for teams in the past, but that has not been the case — for the most part — this year.
A number of 2021 second-round picks remain attached to their rookie deals. Those terms illustrate the improvements Round 2 draftees have made on that front since. The Jaguars did guarantee 2021 No. 33 pick Tyson Campbell‘s first three seasons; his fourth brought $50K guaranteed. This year, the Bills needed to guarantee nearly Keon Coleman‘s entire rookie contract. Coleman has three years locked in and $1.74MM of his $2.1MM 2027 base salary is guaranteed at signing. This year’s No. 59 overall pick (Texans tackle Blake Fisher) secured more in Year 4 guarantees than Campbell’s deal contains.
A sizable gap does exist between Coleman’s final-year guarantees and those of Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro (No. 35 overall). The Clemson product has $966K of his $2.1MM 2024 base guaranteed. This gulf has likely caused the holdup for the Chargers and McConkey, a player who — after the exits of longtime starters Keenan Allen and Mike Williams — stands to be a central figure in the Bolts’ first Jim Harbaugh-era offense. With the top players in Round 2 on the cusp of seeing fully guaranteed deals, McConkey can set another notable precedent while gaining some additional security for himself.
First-round contracts have only been fully guaranteed en masse since 2022, when Vikings safety Lewis Cine — chosen 32nd overall — secured those terms. Though, matters like offset language still have been known to slow negotiations. Extended holdouts into training camp no longer occur among rookies, with players risking the loss of an accrued season toward free agency — a product of the 2020 CBA — by doing so. Corley and Benson were this year’s top third-round picks. The 49ers gave No. 64 overall pick Renardo Green two fully guaranteed years. That has likely caused a holdup for the Jets and Cardinals, considering the progress made via contracts agreed to by earlier draftees.
Bears To Sign WR DeAndre Carter
DeAndre Carter spent some time with the Bears during the 2020 season. A new coaching staff and front office will invite the veteran wide receiver/return man back for a second go-round.
After spending the 2023 season in Las Vegas, Carter is coming back to Chicago, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Carter has spent time with 10 NFL teams and has now completed two reunion agreements, having signed with the Raiders seven years after a short Oakland stop.
The Ryan Pace-Matt Nagy regime initially brought in Carter in 2020, claiming the 5-foot-8 wideout off waivers from the Texans and keeping him through season’s end. Carter, 31, played in four Chicago games that season but then trekked to Washington for the 2021 campaign. Carter visited the Bears early in the Ryan Poles-Matt Eberflus regime’s run but played the 2022 season with the Chargers. He has not played for the same team in consecutive seasons since spending parts of the 2019 and ’20 slates in Houston.
Formerly a 2015 Ravens UDFA, Carter has a 538-yard receiving season on his resume — a 2022 showing in a year that featured Keenan Allen and Mike Williams injuries — but has been a special teams fixture during the 2020s. A handful of teams have made the return game a priority following the NFL greenlighting a trial run of the XFL kickoff; the Bears are following suit.
Carter operated as the primary return man in Washington, L.A. and Vegas over the past three seasons. Also seeing return-game work for the Texans and Bears in 2020, Carter notched a kick-return touchdown with Washington in 2021. Being the Raiders’ preferred option to return both kickoffs and punts in 2023, Carter averaged 23.8 yards per kick return and 9.7 per punt return. Carter ranked 12th in the latter category last season.
It will be kick returns that generate more attention this season, and Carter follows the likes of Cordarrelle Patterson, Laviska Shenault and ex-Bear Tarik Cohen among returners signed following the rule change. The Bears used Velus Jones Jr. as their primary kick returner last year; he averaged 27.2 yards per return. Trent Taylor worked as Chicago’s primary punt returner; Taylor has since returned to the 49ers.
Bears WR Keenan Allen Making Change In Representation
New Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is going to be playing for a team not named the “Chargers” for the first time in his eleven-year NFL career. Allen was shipped to Chicago back in March in exchange for a fourth-round pick that Los Angeles used to trade up and select Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round. Because Allen was a trade asset, the Bears are now faced with contract concerns in their new weapon’s future. 
Allen arrives in Chicago with only one year remaining on his previous four-year, $80.1MM deal. Because of that, Allen is either heading for free agency for the first time in his career or finding a way to extend his contract with the Bears. Either way, Allen is preparing for the future, hiring new agents in anticipation of the contract situations ahead, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
After playing out three years of his rookie deal out of Cal, Allen signed a four-year, $45MM extension, avoiding free agency. Before that deal could expire, the Chargers extended him again on his most recent four-year deal. If he fails to extend his contract in Chicago, he will hit NFL free agency for the first time. He has a lot that he can prove in a potential contract year. At 32 years old, Allen will try to put up career numbers for the second year in a row but will do so this time with a rookie quarterback. He’ll also be competing for targets with D.J. Moore, who showed how dominant he could be as Chicago’s WR1 last year.
The other option sees Allen enjoying a multi-year stay with the Bears. Allen may utilize his new representation to avoid free agency once again and sign an extension to stay in Chicago. This is a route that Allen has claimed to be open to with the Bears but one that he failed to see through this past year with the Chargers, who reportedly offered him another extension to stay in Los Angeles.
Perhaps the change in representation marks a change in contract year strategies for the veteran pass catcher. Maybe instead of continuing to extend his contracts before they expire, Allen has the intention of finally testing the free agent market and hired new agents to handle the situation. Only the future will tell.
TE Marcedes Lewis Re-Signs With Bears
JUNE 12: Lewis agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. These terms match Lewis’ 2023 Bears agreement. The Bears are guaranteeing the 40-year-old tight end $1MM, with part of that sum a $400K signing bonus.
JUNE 9: There are lots of new faces coming to the Bears offense in 2024 with running back D’Andre Swift, wide receiver Keenan Allen, and center Coleman Shelton joining last year’s veteran addition of D.J. Moore. There’s also plenty of youth being infused as top-10 picks Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze arrive in Chicago, as well. With so much change in the locker room, the coaching staff will be happy to see veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis return in 2024. 
Lewis informed Jay Glazer of FOX Sports he will meet with the Bears on Monday with the intention to re-sign in Chicago. On the same day that we see Darren Waller retire after nine years in the league, the NFL’s second-longest-tenured player announces that he intends to return for Year 19. With Lewis being a first-round pick out of UCLA in 2006, only Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (drafted in 2005) has been in the NFL longer than he.
Lewis spent the majority of his career in Jacksonville, playing 12 years with the Jaguars. He would finally leave Duval for Green Bay, signing three one-year contracts followed by a two-year deal in five seasons with the Packers. Lewis waited until the final month before the season in 2023 to sign with the Bears, breaking the record for most seasons played by a tight end in NFL history. He’ll presumably continue to expand that legacy in 2024.
Lewis has never been a relatively productive tight end. Including a Pro Bowl season in 2010 that saw Lewis record career-highs in catches (58), yards (700), and touchdowns (10), Lewis has only broken the 500-yard receiving mark three times and caught more than four touchdowns twice. Since 2012, he hasn’t recorded over 400 yards in a season, and since leaving Jacksonville, his highest yardage total in a season has been 214.
None of that is to say that Lewis is not a strong contributor, even as he enters his age-40 season. Just last year saw Lewis grade out as the league’s fifth-best tight end, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), thanks to some stellar blocking grades, something for which Lewis has been known throughout his career. Despite his dwindling receiving contributions in the last several years, Lewis has remained a starter in most seasons. After starting four games in his first season with the Packers, Lewis became a full-time starter for the next three and a half years.
Lewis started four games in Chicago while appearing in every contest last year. He saw minimal targets, catching fewer than 10 passes for the second straight season but still saw significant snaps as TE2 for the Bears behind Cole Kmet. With Kmet as a premier receiving tight end, finishing ninth in receiving yards for the position last year, the Bears don’t need Lewis to be the every-down tight end he once was in his career. But his vast years of experience have clearly made him an asset in the locker room as he continues to get contracts in the NFL.
Bears, Teven Jenkins Haven’t Talked Extension
Teven Jenkins is entering the final year of his contract. While the offensive guard is interested in extending his stay in Chicago, it sounds like the organization hasn’t been especially active in attempting to re-sign the veteran.
While speaking with reporters today (including Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times), Jenkins acknowledged that his camp “reached out” to the Bears about an extension but “nothing is on the table.” When asked about the front office’s inaction, the offensive lineman described the potential negotiations as “up in the air.”
The former second-round pick is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. As Finley notes, general manager Ryan Poles has recently handed out a handful of extensions, with the reporter pointing to tight end Cole Kmet, defensive end Montez Sweat, nose tackle Andrew Billings, kicker Cairo Santos, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
“I mean, it’s good to see that stuff — that the Bears are willing to do that,” Jenkins said. “But every situation is different. We have to go about it, me and my agent, however ‘upstairs’ wants to do it.”
Jenkins has yet to play a full season, so the Bears may be a bit wary of extending the player too soon. The 26-year-old did stay relatively healthy in 2024; after sitting on injured reserve for the first four games, Jenkins played in 12 of his team’s remaining 13 contests.
After struggling as an offensive tackle, Jenkins took off after switching to guard during his sophomore season. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best guard during the 2022 campaign, and he finished 2023 ranked 14th among qualifying players. The lineman also spent time at both LG and RG, and that versatility could end up helping the Bears down the line.
The organization has been especially active in surrounding Caleb Williams with as much talent as possible. While the team may be dragging their feet a bit with Jenkins, the organization will surely want the offensive lineman locked in for the foreseeable future if he has another strong campaign.