Teams can begin opening practice windows for players on IR and the PUP list this week. The Bears will do so with one of their starting offensive linemen.
Suffering an injury during the preseason, Teven Jenkins went on IR just after the Bears finalized their initial 53-man roster. This allowed them to make the young blocker one of their in-season activations. It looks like Jenkins will be in play to return Sunday, with Matt Eberflus confirming (via the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley) the interior starter is now designated for return.
Designating a player to return from IR means a 21-day practice window is opened. This transaction means the Bears have three weeks to decide on Jenkins, who will either be activated in that span or revert to season-ending IR. With his leg injury never expecting to end his season, it should be assumed the former second-round pick will return at some point in October.
After struggling as a tackle, Jenkins broke through at guard last season. He graded as a top-five guard, in the view of Pro Football Focus, despite moving to the post during the 2022 offseason. The Stanford alum returning would certainly help the Bears, who are 0-4 and have seen other availability issues plague them up front. Left tackle Braxton Jones is on IR as well, while free agent pickup Nate Davis has missed two games.
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