Windy City Gridiron
In this 13-part series, we’ll take an in-depth look at each position group for the Chicago Bears with an eye toward the 2025 season. We’ll speculate on who stays, who goes, and some potential additions we’d like to see general manager Ryan Poles make.
The Chicago Bears have a desperate need on the interior of their offensive line, as all three starters are free agents. I went over center a couple of days ago, so here are the Bears’ current guards.
Teven Jenkins - Free agent - Jenkins has never played a full NFL season, which is something teams will factor into any contract offer he receives. His rookie season saw him start two of the six games he played in. He missed nine games in his next two years, but he only missed three games in 2024.
Pro Football Focus ranks Tev as the third-best free agent guard behind the Kansas City Chiefs’ Trey Smith and the Indianapolis Colts Will Fries.
Here’s what PFF had to say about Jenkins.
Jenkins is a force to be reckoned with on most Sundays; the issue over his career thus far has been getting on the field on Sundays. There are some occasional whiffs to clean up in pass protection, but it can’t exactly help his pass-set footwork going from right tackle to left tackle to left guard while also rehabbing a bunch over his rookie contract. Fellow 2021 second-round draft pick Sam Cosmi signed a four-year, $74 million extension with the Washington Commanders before the 2024 campaign, which could serve as a favorable comparison for Jenkins, as Cosmi also kicked inside from tackle to guard and missed some time to injury through his first three seasons.
SB Nation has Jenkins ranked as the second-best free agent guard behind Trey Smith.
When he’s on the field, Jenkins is a force, and he’s also one of the top free agent guards who plays on the left side.
Matt Pryor - Free agent - I’d like to see Pryor return, but the talk amongst some fans that he could be a stop-gap starter in 2025 is silly to me. He’s a quality reserve who can fill in at guard or tackle, but I’d rather not see him penciled in as a starter.
Bill Murray - Exclusive rights free agent - Even more silly is the Bill Murray as a starter discourse. I expect he’ll return as the ERFA number is low, but he’ll be back to compete for a depth job. He’s appeared in three games on offense in his entire career, all last year, for a grand total of 42 snaps. His looking solid in half a game against the Panthers isn't enough to anoint him the second coming of Mark Bortz.
Jordan McFadden - Signed through 2026 - The Bears claimed McFadden off the waiver wire a few weeks ago. He only appeared in one game last season, but as a rookie in 2023, he started 2 of the 12 games he...
