Teven Jenkins feels like “a young buck,” doesn’t…

USA TODAY Sports

Bears second-round pick Teven Jenkins‘ rookie season hasn’t unfolded as planned due to a back injury that required him to have surgery and kept him out of action until he made his NFL debut with a pair of special teams snaps last weekend.

On Wednesday, Jenkins opened up about the injury. He’d experienced back problems at Oklahoma State, but said he had different symptoms at rookie minicamp and tried to push through them because he didn’t want to be seen as someone who “if he’s a little hurt he can’t go.” By training camp, though, the pain was “unbearable” and that led him to the surgical option.

With several months of rehab under his belt, Jenkins said that he’s feeling like “a young buck” and isn’t worried about further back issues down the line.

“I don’t see this being a problem ever again, because there’s not any screws in me, there’s nothing in me, it’s not like that,” Jenkins said, via Alyssa Barbieri of USAToday.com. “It’s just clean-cut, amazing. So I don’t feel like it’s ever going to be a problem again.”

Jenkins is expected to remain behind Jason Peters at left tackle for the time being and said he looks forward to learning from the veteran as he prepares for a bigger role down the line.