Bears sign talented guard for $30 million deal |
Things have been a struggle for the Bears recently, but nothing was worse than last year. After ending the season on a 10-game losing streak to finish with the worst record in the league, the Bears entered the offseason with the No. 1 pick and the most cap space of anyone.
Expected to be one of the more aggressive teams offseason, the Bears made their first big move by trading away the No. 1 pick to Carolina in exchange for DJ Moore and four additional picks. You then saw them get aggressive in free agency by adding free-agent LBs TJ Edwards and Tramaine Edumunds to help fix the broken defense. Even with those moves being made, there are still plenty of holes for the Bears to fix, and one of those holes remains the offensive line. For a team that led the NFL in rushing a season ago, it is hard to believe it was as bad as it was. However, when you lead the league in sacks allowed and have one of the worst passing attacks, you can see why the Bears would love to address that side of the ball. Well, Ryan Poles has stuck to his word as reports out of Chicago indicate that the Bears are expected to sign OG Nate Davis to a three-year deal. The former Tennessee Titan knows a thing about blocking for RBs, as he helped pave the way for Derrick Henry the last few years. Looking at how this Bears offense is constructed and running the football is vital to their success, so you can see why this deal was made. Like the other deals made earlier in the day, this is also a multi-year contract where Davis is set to make $30 million over three seasons with $19.5 million guaranteed. The addition of Davis could also spell the end of Cody Whitehair's time in Chicago, as this organization is about to go through a dramatic facelift this offseason. The 26-year-old Davis has started 54 games for the Titans at the guard position, primarily playing right guard. However, Davis appears to be the next in line to replace Whitehair, who could be viewed as a salary cap casualty for this team. Although the Bears need pass protection in their offense, Davis is a better run blocker than a pass blocker. You can see the fit for an offense that is a run-first team, but the Bears need to get more out of him in pass-protection schemes. While this seems like a great move to address this team's massive priority, it comes with one significant concern. That concern is the overall health of Davis, as he has only played one full season in the NFL. With Monday being a busy day for offensive linemen, the Bears shifted their attention to Davis after losing out on Mike McGlinchey and Jawaan Taylor. The Bears will look to draft an OT with their No. 9 pick instead of overpaying for one this offseason. While it is unclear why the Titans elected not to re-sign Davis, there was one connection that ultimately helped the Bears land him. That is the assistant offensive line coach Luke Steckel. The former TE coach on the Titans staff, Steckel, elected to join the Bears this offseason, and they made him an assistant OL coach in the process. Having the familiarity with Steckel as a coach was a huge factor in Davis coming to Chicago, and you get the sense that these two can't wait to join forces yet again. Davis was not just coveted by the Bears and was seen as one of the better free agents this offseason as he checked in as the 25th best free agent of the offseason. Davis is a guard who excels in run and pass blocking, and he has youth on his side. The combination of age, positional need, floor, and ceiling should make Davis a vital part of the Bears future on the offensive line. I think Nate Davis is my favorite Bears signing so far. Such a great fit for what they want to do offensively pic.twitter.com/SU2wfKIdIQ
