Barely a week after the Bears were unable to find a trade partner to unload Nate Davis, the team is moving on from the underwhelming free agent signing. Chicago cut Davis on Wednesday.
Although Davis is a vested veteran, he will head to waivers due to the trade deadline having passed. He is tied to a through-2025 contract, one the Bears did not view him as justifying. After trade efforts proved fruitless, this cut comes shortly after the Bears dismissed Shane Waldron as their OC.
A waiver claim should be considered unlikely due to Davis’ performance and prorated base salary. The benched blocker is owed $3.9MM in remaining base pay for this season, as he entered the year with a fully guaranteed $8.75MM base salary for the second year of his contract.
The Bears gave Davis a three-year, $30MM deal in 2023 but did not see the commitment pay off. The Maine native was mentioned as a 2025 cut candidate, but the Bears — who are giving the play-calling reins to pass-game coordinator Thomas Brown — are not waiting.
Davis, 28, has not played since Week 5. Even with would-be starter Ryan Bates on IR, the Bears deactivated Davis to insert Matt Pryor into their starting lineup. A former third-round pick, Davis had been a four-year starter for the Titans who commanded a nice market last year. He did not impress too much in Year 1 with the Bears, who used him as a starter in all 11 games he played. Davis came back to start just two games this season, and the Bears will take on some dead money to dump this contract.
The deal includes no guaranteed money beyond 2024, but it does feature $2MM in prorated signing bonus. The Bears will eat that and, assuming no one claims Davis, the remaining $3.9MM on his 2024 salary. This marks a steep fall for Davis, who had started 54 games in Tennessee and was a generally durable player on an O-line that featured some injury trouble at other spots. As the Titans dealt with Taylor Lewan‘s knee trouble and struggled to replace Jack Conklin at right tackle, they could depend on Davis, a starter during Derrick Henry‘s two journeys to rushing titles.
Pro Football Focus ranked Davis as a top-25 guard from 2020-22. Among guards in the 2023 free agent class, only Ben Powers fared better in terms of AAV. The Bears had attempted to pair an eight-figure Davis AAV with Teven Jenkins‘ rookie contract. No serious Jenkins extension talks have begun, as Chicago’s line has underwhelmed this season. A new coaching staff will presumably be tasked with improving the group next year, and it will be interesting to see if GM Ryan Poles will be given a chance to formulate the plan up front. As of now, the third-year front office boss looks like a slightly better bet to stay than HC Matt Eberflus.
The Bears have Bates healthy again, as the trade pickup’s Week 1 injury kept him off the field for two months. Bates returned to the starting lineup against the Patriots, a game in which the Bears allowed nine sacks. Bates is under contract through 2025, while Jenkins is in a walk year.