Healthy Jenkins returns to Carolina without any bitterness

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - His massive frame easily could be filled with venom, loaded with years of tension to be unleashed on the first poor, unsuspecting soul who lines up against him.

But Kris Jenkins insists that's not the case. He promises he's in a better place, genuinely looking forward to the situation that lies in front of him Saturday night. The 31-year-old nose tackle will be back in familiar surroundings, peering up into the crowd in the sky-blue seats at the stadium that sits off John Belk Freeway.

"Honestly, it's going to be a trip," Jenkins said, "because every time I go out there to see my son or go out there to catch up with friends or whatever, every time you have to go downtown to some of my favorite restaurants, the stadium is right there. So when you drive past it, I just have some flashbacks."

Jenkins, who spent his first seven seasons with Carolina, returns to Bank of America Stadium when the Jets take on the Panthers in Game 2 of their four-game preseason. So that's why Saturday night is a double homecoming of sorts for the 6-4, 360-pounder.

It's his second home, in a way. It's the city where his eldest son resides and the locale that Jenkins - who was born in Michigan and went to college at the University of Maryland - plans on for permanent roots when his days of making life miserable for offensive linemen, running backs and quarterbacks are done.

"When I retire, I'll be moving back to Charlotte just because it's cheaper, it's slower, it's more peaceful, it's less trouble for your kids to get into," Jenkins said. "It's going to be a beautiful thing, and that's why I can't complain. When it's all said and done, and when you look at it through the good and the bad out there, it helped me develop the character that has made me who I am now.

"That's why I said I have nothing to be mad at."

Jenkins had three Pro Bowl seasons in Carolina, the first two in 2002 and '03. Season-ending injuries in '04 and '05 derailed him, but he made the Pro Bowl in '06.

Still, Jenkins battled constant weight problems - he ballooned to 400 pounds at one point - and drew the ire of coach John Fox and his staff, leading to a few clashes. Jenkins got himself into more trouble with a postgame rant after an early-season loss to the Bucs in '07, openly questioning his teammates' heart and passion.

He was traded to the Jets in '08 and flourished with another Pro Bowl campaign. His '09 season was cut short when he tore his left ACL Oct. 18 against the Bills, an injury from which he appears to have totally recovered.

"We are seeing a phenomenal Kris Jenkins, and he was phenomenal to begin with," coach Rex Ryan said. "He's really become a better technique player, which is scary for the league."

Said Jenkins: "I've got a lot of people here that are looking to see how I'm going to bounce back from last year. A lot of guys are seeing [that] now that we are getting further and further into stuff, how that motor is starting to crank up, those legs are moving a lot faster and stuff a lot of guys didn't think that I had it like that anymore.

"So I had to let them know, 'Look, I've got to be smart about it, so don't count me out yet.' This is that year where I get to show the world that I still have it and that I've still got a lot more years, and just that knee surgery builds character. That's all it does."