The Chicago Bears gave Nate Davis a large three-year contract in March 2023, believing he was a perfect fit for their offense. He was big, strong, and athletic. Unfortunately, as is often the case in free agency, they had no definitive way of measuring Davis’ commitment to the game. Since arriving in Chicago, a few things have become apparent. He has a poor work ethic, reportedly hates practice, and has a growing reputation for suffering constant injury setbacks. The fact he popped up this week for a groin issue was hardly a surprise.
Anybody with eyes could see that head coach Matt Eberflus was growing fed up with Davis’ unreliability. The belief is the Bears had planned to plug veteran Ryan Bates in at right guard once his shoulder injury was behind him. Sadly, he aggravated it and went on Injured Reserve. Chicago tried to see if Davis could make it work, but he’s been a disaster through the first two games. Now, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears plan to replace him with veteran Matt Pryor.
It would be surprising if Nate Davis plays again.
If the Bears have their way, Pryor will play well enough on Sunday to justify giving him more work. This would continue at least until Bates returns from IR and can assume the job full-time. Only Pryor getting hurt or looking completely lost would give him another chance. The 29-year-old has started 12 games as a right guard during his stints in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Results were mixed. He had some truly horrible performances, but also some really good ones. Part of the problem was his former teams moved him around a lot, often between guard and tackle. It is difficult to find consistency that way.
Since arriving in Chicago, the Bears have kept Pryor at guard. He responded with a standout preseason, allowing only one QB pressure in 40 snaps. This isn’t what anybody would call the ideal solution. However, it had to happen. Nate Davis was a liability whether he was healthy or not. At some point, a team must accept that a player is a sunk cost and try something else.
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Just in time! I’m not sure how my day would go without a recurring replacing Nate Davis article. SMH
Mooney was neglected last year, and was painted in an unfair light on one play alone. A play in which he was lined up outside of a 40 lb heavier DJ, and expected to hold the edge for a skittish QB. He had a similar block as DJ, only at a much more difficult angle. Keenan had his best year last year. That is the only reason I am on board with that move wholeheartedly. If he had significant decline in numbers, I’d view it differently. I’ve said all along Odunze was a luxury pick and we will suffer in… Read more »
@Tred —
You pointed out Keenan Allen’s “weight problem” before any of us realized the same may be an issue with RT, Darnell Wright.
I’ve been a big fan and supporter of Darnell’s skill — but this year he looks slow in his balance recovery (unfortunately, in response to getting beat off of a first, inside step by the defender).
Aidan Hutchinson is marking his calendar.
@jmscooby — Earlier this year I mentioned that it might be interesting to compare the 2024 year-end stats of: Darnell Mooney, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen — throw in DJ Moore if you like. I don’t expect Mooney to lead the four — but, I don’t think he’ll be the last one either. I understand Poles’ motivation in trading for Keenan Allen before the NFL Draft (with the possibility of our “JC Latham or Joe Alt trade-up” coming true). But unfortunately, the “aging, oft-injured” future HOF- WR, Allen is “living down” to expectations. Let’s see how it all plays out.… Read more »
You’re argument is old. We are 1-1. If you want to keep a running tab on our current GM, and again I’m not an apologist for the guy, but I’d counter he came into the job hamstrung by Fields, Whitehair, and EJax. Wasted picks to trade up to draft a QB when we didn’t have a team in place in the first place, and giving big money to a guard and a safety who refused to tackle. Meanwhile, the rest of the cupboard was bear regarding talent on the team. We had an injured guard, and a 172 pound WR… Read more »