Bears OL, Former OSU Star Teven Jenkins to Undergo Back Surgery

Chicago Bears rookie and former Oklahoma State offensive tackle standout Teven Jenkins will undergo back surgery on Wednesday, his head coach, Matt Nagy, said Wednesday morning.

Jenkins could miss a substantial amount — if not all — of the 2021 season.

“Teven’s going to be getting back surgery today,” said Nagy. “It’s a common procedure that’s done locally. We tried to hope to avoid the surgery with him, and we tried several treatments. The goal is to get him back this season.”

Jenkins had back issues dating back to his time at OSU, but Nagy said the symptoms Jenkins is experiencing now are “new.”

“We were aware of the back issues in college, but this is something new,” he said. “We were trying different things to see if we could stay away from this. It was something that we ended up getting to this point.”

Jenkins was a first-round prospect who wound up slipping to No. 39 (ninth pick of the second round) earlier this year. Nagy didn’t put a timeline on his potential return but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that Jenkins’ season could be over before it began.