Having signed a contract extension, Elgton Jenkins knows the team for which he’ll be playing the next four seasons. He does not know the position.
“You don’t know what the future holds,” Jenkins said after Friday’s practice. “Right now, we’re at guard. We’ve got three games left and we’re going to get that done.”
Could that future be at left tackle?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t limit myself at any position. Yeah, I do see myself being able to go back out there.”
After the group of reporters left his locker, Jenkins confirmed a tweet by Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus and Over the Cap that there is an incentive in his contract for earning All-Pro honors at … left tackle.
Of course, David Bakhtiari is the team’s left tackle. He is under contract through the 2024 season. As part of his contract, he has a $9.5 million roster bonus that’s due on the third day of the league-year.
However, a source said the incentive wasn’t a sign that Bakhtiari would be released at the end of the season so the team could avoid paying that bonus and create about $5.9 million of cap space. Rather, it would reward Jenkins if he were forced to move out to left tackle, as was the case in 2021, when Bakhtiari was coming off the knee injury that ended his 2020 season just before the playoffs.
It's been an adventurous few seasons for Jenkins. As a second-year pro in 2020, he was voted to the Pro Bowl team for his work at left guard. With Bakhtiari out to open the 2021 season, Jenkins moved to left tackle and delivered eight high-level starts before suffering a torn ACL of his own in Week 11 at Minnesota.
Jenkins made an impressive comeback from the injury. With minimal work at the end of training camp, Jenkins started at right tackle in Week 2. Pro Football Focus charged him with two sacks and 12 pressures in five starts at a new position.
For Week 7 at Washington, Jenkins moved back to left guard and has been tremendous. In seven starts heading into Sunday’s game at the Miami Dolphins, Jenkins allowed one sack and four pressures, according to PFF.
“You could kind of feel him on the practice field, you could feel him on the game field, just having a little bit more swagger out there, confidence,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think confidence is a big thing in this league. I don’t care what position you’re playing. It’s a big thing in life in general, right?
Was it familiarity with the position? Working his way back into form following a major injury?
“It may be a combination of both,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, he’s got the most time on task at the left guard position, but I also think that these injuries, especially you’re talking about significant injuries, they take time to overcome. Although we’d all like to think that the guys, as soon as they’re back, are going to be exactly as they were when they got injured, many times that’s not the case and they need to work through it. He’s done a great job being diligent and taking advantage of the times when he’s on the field.”
With Christmas on Sunday and his birthday on Monday, the contract extension makes for a great gift. Especially in light of the road back from a major injury.
“This time last year, I was in a dark place,” Jenkins said. “Just coming off three seasons of playing good, playing well and then you hurt yourself in your third season. I could say I was in a dark place, but I just had to work, work, work my way through this.”
Through work, Jenkins was able to answer any doubts. Would he be as good as ever? Would he maximize his potential contract?
Yes and yes. The future is bright – whatever the position.
“I knew I was going to come back, but I didn’t know to what extent and how good I was going to be when I came back,” he said. “I knew I was going to get paid, but I didn’t know how much. Just coming back and then progressing throughout the season to where we’re at now and how I feel, I feel good.”
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