Teven Jenkins' contract details with Browns speak volumes as to why he didn't land with the Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals appeared to have interest in free agent guard Teven Jenkins two weeks ago. That interest quickly died down, even faster than the time it took for Jenkins to find his new team. Jenkins agreed to terms with the Cleveland Browns last week. It was a tad bit surprising considering the Browns weren't […]
The Cincinnati Bengals appeared to have interest in free agent guard Teven Jenkins two weeks ago. That interest quickly died down, even faster than the time it took for Jenkins to find his new team.
Jenkins agreed to terms with the Cleveland Browns last week. It was a tad bit surprising considering the Browns weren't linked to Jenkins at all in the build up to the news breaking, and the fact that Cleveland didn't have a starting guard spot open for Jenkins to take.
As it turns out, the Browns aren't paying Jackson what you'd expect a starter to make. This can help explain why the Bengals didn't continue to pursue him.
Teven Jenkins one-year contract revealed
Jenkins will officially earn at minimum $2.67 million this year for the Browns as his $1.5 million signing bonus and $1.17 million base salary are both guaranteed. He can an additional $320,000 in per game roster bonuses and by participating in offseason workouts.
If Jenkins chose a one-year deal, then one of two things can be assumed to be true. He either only had one-year deals to chose from and this was the strongest offer, or he chose a heavily-guaranteed one-year deal over multi-year deals which didn't include guaranteed money beyond the first year.
The Bengals, despite Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins' new contracts, don't normally offer guarantees beyond the first year. If they offered Jenkins multiple years, they would've likely structured it in a way to make sure they could get out of the deal after 2025.
Cincinnati hasn't agreed to an external free agent contract with a length greater than two years since 2023. Maybe Jenkins was floated a two-year deal and he didn't want to be hitched to that when he could simply take a one-year deal and re-enter the market next offseason.
Jenkins' injury history definitely came into play here. He missed numerous games during the first four years of his career with the Chicago Bears, and that likely dried his market. The Bengals could've simply learned more about Jenkins' injury history and pulled themselves from the opportunity to sign him.
The Bengals did land a guard in Lucas Patrick and will officially pay him just $200,000 in guaranteed money. Patrick can earn up to $2.1 million if he's active for all 17 games. It's a much more team-friendly deal compared to what Jenkins got from the Browns.
Both players are now on Ohio NFL teams, and neither one may end up starting come September. Only time will tell if Cincinnati made the right call to let Jenkins choose Cleveland.
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