It isn’t a secret that Chicago Bears fans have long passed their breaking point with Nate Davis. The veteran guard came in as a free agent in 2023, hoping to fortify their interior offensive line. Since then, it has been one constant headache after another. He’s missed the majority of two training camps with health issues. He missed six games last year because of other health issues. Then, when he finally gets on the field, he is mired by inconsistency. Chicago paid him a lot of money. This isn’t what anybody expected from somebody with his talent.
As it turns out, the situation behind the scenes might be worse than we realized. Fans aren’t the only ones getting fed up with Davis. His own teammates and coaches have reached that point as well. Adam Hoge of CHGO went on Scoop City with Diana Russini to discuss the Bears’ situation. From everything he’s heard and gathered, the team is frustrated with Davis’ unwillingness to practice, and in truth, they likely had plans to bench him before Ryan Bates aggravated his shoulder injury.
Now they’re stuck.
“Since training camp started, it’s been a disaster. Nate Davis is probably not a huge national story, but locally, it’s been a big story for the last two years. He doesn’t like to practice. The Bears are frustrated with him not practicing. And I think he was going to lose that starting job at right guard to Ryan Bates, but Ryan Bates got hurt. And last week, actually, Ryan Bates out-snapped Nate Davis in the opener in a rotation, but then Ryan Bates suffered another injury this week in practice and he’s now on IR.
So Nate Davis is out there by default. They got nobody else there to put in, even though I don’t think they want to play him. The interior of the offensive line is probably the least sexy thing to talk about when it comes to football, but right now for the Bears, it’s their biggest problem.”
Nate Davis is on borrowed time.
That much is clear. His miserable performances against Tennessee and Houston have elevated the fire under his seat to scorching. The only question is whether the Bears will bite the bullet and stick with him until Bates returns or try replacing him with somebody else. Perhaps they could give Matt Pryor or Bill Murray a look. They could shift Darnell Wright inside from right tackle and put Pryor or rookie Kiran Amegadjie on the edge. Last but not least, they could always try adding a veteran guard with some experience from free agency.
Their decision may come down to what happens Sunday against Indianapolis. The Colts just lost star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to an ankle injury. Their interior rush outside of him has not been good. If Nate Davis can’t hold his own in those more favorable conditions, it will be confirmation that he is a complete lost cause. Regardless of what happens the rest of this season, it is his last in Chicago. There is almost no doubt he will be cut next spring, and the Bears will focus on fortifying their interior offensive line.
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@nonobaddog – that misses the point entirely. Poles said he was impressed enough with the QBs last year to take him. If that’s true then his process and judgement in scouting and evaluating QBs needs to be examined to determine why he thought Stroud wasn’t any good.
@Tred, do you really think Stroud would have played as well as a Bear lSt year? After seeing what is happening to Williams this year and to some extent, Fields last year? It’s not the players, it’s the coaches.
@Tred —
It’s just that Poles “doesn’t know what he doesn’t know” — AND, doesn’t seem to care about learning.
We’ll see.
PS Good luck with the “red ink.”
@TGena – a few days ago I predicted that one day people here will hate me far more than you could ever hope to be hated…
Give me time, brother. A friend taped the game for me, and I re -watched it all, in all it’s gory this afternoon. I am getting seriously P O’ed watching this team letting another kid get his teeth kicked in at QB.
I still think Poles can salvage this. But not if he listens to his fan club.
@Tred — Thanks — Yeah I saw Lucas Patrick’s name at the top of PFF’s 2024 NFL Guards’ grade ranking at a 92.6 overall grade; and James Daniels at #3, (89.8). People don’t realize how little difference there is in the players that ultimately make it to the NFlL. Coaching, attitude, heart, timing, scheme, fit — lots of important variables get introduced. Of course, there are the “freaks” like Trent Williams, the Watt Bros., the Bosa Bros., etc., that could play anywhere. But, I wish the Bears would get an O-line coach that knows his trade. It’s been a while.… Read more »