Nate Davis’ disappointing Bears tenure continues with the latest injury report
Nate Davis was once a reliable starting right guard. In four years with The Tennessee Titans, Nate Davis played 55/66 regular season games. He missed only 11 games in those four seasons.
He also had a big impact on the Titans’ offense. Davis was a big factor in Derrick Henry’s 2000-yard rushing seasons in 2020 and 2021.
When the Bears signed Davis, he was supposed to help anchor the carousel that was the Bears’ offensive line. That is not what happened as Davis now appears to be in a state of perpetual injury.
Matt Eberflus’ reveals bad news about Nate Davis’ health
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported on Thursday, that there is a new update on Nate Davis’ health. Cronin relayed what Bears head coach Matt Eberflus had to say about Davis’ situation.
Nate Davis did indeed suffer a setback during practice on Sunday, a soft tissue injury per Matt Eberflus. He is considered week to week.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) August 8, 2024
Davis has played 11 games for the Chicago Bears and, likely, that number won’t get much higher. A laundry list of injuries has kept Davis sidelined for the majority of training camp. During that time, Matt Eberflus has been asked if Nate Davis’ starting spot is secure, even though he has missed plenty of time with injuries.
Eberflus responded directly, with little room for interpretation. It sounds like Davis’ spot is not secure at all.
“If a person’s out for an extended period of time and the player that’s in that position is playing very well, at a starter level, and doing a good job there, then you create the competition. You say, hey, there’s a competition.
People say you can’t lose a job because of injury. I don’t think that is true. I think if the guy that is playing there gives our team a good look and a good benefit for him being in that position, then it’s a competition. Or the other guy could take it over.” – Matt Eberflus
Davis’ absence is allowing other players on the roster to impress at training camp and stake their claim. If one of them looks like they can be the starter, and it sounds like someone might have done just that. In that case there is no longer a guarantee that the job belongs to Davis.
The Bears traded for former Bills player Ryan Bates in March. While bates has been competing for the Bears center job, most of his NFL experience as a starter is at right guard. Ryan Bates has been seeing getting a significant amount of reps in training camp at right guard.
Ryan Bates could very likely take Nate Davis’ job as the starting right guard of the Chicago Bears.
Overview of the Nate Davis situation
When Ryan Poles signed Nate Davis, it was a good move. The Bears needed offensive line help and at the time, Davis was one of the best right guards in the NFL. That is why his time with the Bears has been so disappointing. Most of his time in a Bears uniform has been on the sidelines.
Davis has an $11.3 million cap hit in 2024. If he is cut, the Bears will have $10.7 million in dead cap.
If the bears offensive line was in better shape, Davis would probably be cut. Teven Jenkins picked up an injury on August 4 and Darnell Wright has been dealing with a nagging injury as well. The Bears offensive line looks almost the same as it did last season, completely experimental.
This is not good news for Caleb Williams. The last thing a rookie QB needs is an offensive line that resembles Swiss cheese. With injuries up and down the offensive line depth chart, there is no consistency for Williams to practice with.
Every NFL team has a hole or area of weakness. But having a weakness at offensive line can more impactful than holes else where on the roster. Poor offensive line play puts the quarterback at the mercy of the opponents pass rush. If the QB isn’t safe, he can’t perform.
The Bears have $21 million in cap space. That isn’t a ton, but it is not insubstantial. Ryan Poles could use that to pick up a few more offensive linemen for insurance purposes. At least until the projected “starters” can get healthy. The season is only about a month away. There is not much time to recover from injuries.
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