The thing to remember about what the Chicago Bears have done in free agency thus far is this. What people outside Halas Hall think they’re for isn’t the same as those inside it. Players most would view as locks for a certain role could likely see ones significantly different. A perfect example is Mike Davis.
For the majority of his NFL career to this point, the young man has been a backup. He was a backup in San Francisco and again in Seattle. This often leads people into the false assumption that being a backup is all he’s good for. Several times over the course of the past 100 years, this has proven to be a bad way of thinking.
There are many reasons a player might be a backup beyond him simply not being good enough. It could be he’s stuck on a loaded depth chart or simply hasn’t been given the opportunity to actually start. Yet it’s imperative to ask this question. Would the Bears have paid this man $3 million a year to essentially replace Taquan Mizzell?
If so, that’s extraordinarily bad business. That is why they have bigger plans for him.
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Mike Davis likely could see starter-level work in Chicago Bears offense
People were fixated on the belief that Jordan Howard was the starter for Chicago. Until somebody of greater renown, be it a veteran or a high draft choice comes in, it shall remain that way. They were wrong. Howard has been traded to Philadelphia. The Bears don’t seem afraid to roll with Davis and Tarik Cohen as their backfield. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune explained.
“The team signed Mike Davis in free agency and right now he projects to be the starting running back.
I don’t think the Bears are going to pay Davis $3 million this season (counts $2 million vs. the salary cap) and Howard $2 million this season. The Bears will look to team Davis with Tarik Cohen and a draft pick and in that case, Howard figures to be the odd man out.”
It’s not totally unprecedented to think Matt Nagy would do something like this. In 2016 as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, he went with a combination of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West in the backfield. Ware was a former 6th round pick of the Seahawks and West was an undrafted free agent. The Chiefs finished a respectable 15th in rushing that year.
Is it so crazy to think Davis can accomplish something like that? Davis was a 4th round pick when he was drafted. He averaged over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in his two years as a starter at South Carolina. In Seattle, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 2018. Clearly the Bears see him as a player who is trending up in his career. If they’re right, then they may have gotten a starting running back at a bargain.
