Nate

Davis

The Bears cut bait with Davis after signing him last offseason to a three-year deal worth up to $30 million, with $17 million guaranteed. Davis is one of several Bears offensive linemen who have underperformed in a reeling Chicago offense that recently saw OC Shane Waldron fired. Davis played five games in 2024 and was graded by Pro Football Focus as the league’s 79th best pass blocking lineman. He allowed one sack and five hurries over five games. Davis will likely land on another roster sooner rather than later. A team would have to pick up nearly $4 million in contract guarantees if they sign Davis this season.

We don’t know the specifics of Davis’s injury at this time, but head coach Matt Eberflus said Davis suffered a setback in his recovery and will now miss multiple weeks. Whether or not this absence could stretch into the regular season is to be determined, but his absence would create a massive hole along the right side of the Bears’ line. Davis played in 11 games for the team last season after being limited by an ankle injury suffered in Week 7. In addition to Davis, Eberflus also said the team is feeling good about cornerback Kyler Gordon’s (tightness) recovery but didn’t give a specific timetable for his return.

Backup interior lineman Dan Feeney is questionable as is starting right tackle Darnell Wright. Losing multiple starting linemen is not what the Bears want to see as they prepare UDFA rookie Tyson Bagent for his first NFL start. Even as one of the league’s weaker defenses, the Raiders are a solid streaming option in a great matchup this week.

Davis was injured on a play where QB Justin Fields fell into his lower body. He is one of Chicago’s starting offensive lineman and is now replaced in the game by Ja’Tyre Carter. The Bears’ already shaky offensive line gets shakier for Fields.

The high-priced free agent guard returned for Chicago’s mandatory minicamp and appears to be ready for the season after missing the end of last year to an ankle injury. Davis profiles as the starter next to rookie RT Darnell Wright on the right side.

It’s possible that Davis is still rehabbing an ankle injury that put him on IR in late December, but if that’s true you won’t hear about it from Matt Eberflus, who refused to offer any details and later in the piece is quoted as saying “I’m not really going to talk about the injuries.” Davis signed a three-year, $30 million contract this offseason and is projected to start at right guard so long as this isn’t serious.

Drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Davis logged 54 starts at right guard in Tennessee. Pro Football Focus charted him as earning a career-high overall grade in 2022. He ranked as their No. 17 guard on the year. The Bears’ offensive line has been an issue for years. Adding Davis will help them on the interior and likely won’t be the last move they make to shore up the trenches.

Davis joins fellow starting interior lineman Ben Jones on injured reserve. Neither of them will be eligible to play until after the wild card round, assuming the Titans make it that far. Tennessee signed Xavier Newman to the active roster to replace Davis. Davis is set to enter free agency after the season and has been a stellar run blocker for the Titans since 2020. He could draw multi-year offers, if not more due to scarcity.

Neither will C Ben Jones (concussion), so the Titans will be extremely limited on the offensive line while trying to deal with a rookie quarterback and a Texans defense that has been feistier against the run of late. Derrick Henry’s streak of 200-yard games against Houston looks to be in jeopardy on paper.

Davis (6’3/316) made 37 starts for Charlotte, manning right guard as a freshman, sophomore, and junior before moving to right tackle as a senior and earning second-team All-C-USA despite making only seven starts due to an academic suspension. Davis’ size, arm length (33 1/8"), and below-par athleticism (24th percentile) has pushed him back to guard in the pros, where Davis’ drive-blocking ability gives him D.J. Fluker-level upside.