Matt Eberflus pretty much made it official on Friday. The offensive line alignment they went with last Sunday in Indianapolis would remain the same for this week against Los Angeles. That means veteran Matt Pryor would start at right guard, confirming that Nate Davis is benched. There is no injury to hide behind. He practiced in full on Thursday and Friday. Under normal circumstances, he’d play. The fact he isn’t should tell you everything you need to know about what the Chicago Bears think of him.
They would rather go with a less athletic option like Pryor, who at least gives it everything he has, than persist with giving him countless chances.
One would think his rough showings against Tennessee and Houston were the final straw for the Bears. In truth, that moment came the month before. Insider Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron revealed that many inside Halas Hall were irate that Davis barely practiced in training camp. This forced them to shift Ryan Bates, who they wanted to play center, over to guard while Coleman Shelton manned the middle. His inability to stay on the field ruined their plans.
Nate Davis is a harsh lesson for Ryan Poles.
The Bears GM has said he doesn’t like relying on free agency to fill key needs on the roster. That didn’t stop him from handing Davis a lucrative three-year contract to bolster the offensive line. A major concern with free agents is it’s almost impossible to gauge their personal motivations because, unlike draft prospects, you can’t interview them beforehand. It is a complete shot in the dark where you base everything on past performance. This is why so many teams end up with regrettable contracts. Many players lose their motivation after finally getting their money.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Nate Davis falls into that category. He might have a case for the worst free agent signing in Bears history. Mike Glennon may still have the edge, but it’s close. D’Andre Swift could soon enter the conversation if his current funk continues. Whatever the case, this decision felt inevitable for some time. Once Bates returns, he will likely assume the center job or replace Pryor at right guard. There is no way Davis sees the field again unless another injury occurs.
Exactly what I said: A free agent’s agent (and NFL rules) won’t allow speaking to free agents during much of interest and negotiation time. There is no way (except talking to previous teammates) what a player’s mind is like. If you can’t coach UDFAs you are really at a decades long disadvantage.
(Note that evon Stephon Diggs hasn’t produced more than Tank Dell or Nico Collins – but he isn’t bad or disruptive).
$30M worth of guard sitting on the bench due to lack of motivation. Awesome. He’s not even trade bait now.
Seems to be a long-standing mindset in Chicago that the OL “isn’t great but they’ll be good enough”. How’s that working out?
It’s the last piece of the puzzle. Do you know where your priority lies Mr. Poles?
Can’t say I would argue with too much you said there jmscooby. I’m hopeful that Teven will stay healthy and we can keep him at a decent price but if not, another option would be signing and moving Jones over to guard if he doesn’t find big money elsewhere. I would be dumbfounded if he did but goofy sh*t happens all the time in this league. If the Bears keep the first 3 picks intact next year, I fully expect 2 of them to go for O-linemen including their 1st round pick. If the right guy is available in Free… Read more »
Where’s the pride? Where’s the fkn pride?
Ideally, you only want to bring in guys that love football. At the time, we needed guys with ceiling to protect our QB we were evaluating. So, if we tried 3 times to get Bates, I’m guessing he’s our center for the next couple years. Re-signing Teven is just as much of a gamble as Nate regarding reliability, but for different reasons. I don’t know the future of Braxton, but like I’ve said, his agent is going to want top LT money. We had a similar situation with Charles Leno a few years back, although I believe there was a… Read more »