Patience is a limited resource in all lines of work, but that is especially true in the NFL. Teams won’t wait for you. If you’re wasting their time and resources, they will dump you for somebody who can actually help them. The Chicago Bears signed guard Nate Davis last year in hopes he could shore up the offensive line. What followed was him missing most of training camp and several games last season due to various health and off-the-field issues. Things haven’t gotten much better.
Davis missed both OTAs and minicamps with another health problem. Then, after one padded practice on Friday, he left the second on Saturday with another undisclosed strain. Head coach Matt Eberflus spoke to the media about after practice. He said Davis was day-to-day, indicating the injury should be minor. However, with Davis, you never know. Either way, Eberflus didn’t seem overly pleased about this ongoing issue. It sounds like he and the organization are reaching a breaking point.
“Availability is everything, right? You have to be available to practice and you’ve got to be capable of doing hard better during training camp. That’s all part of preparing for the first part of the season — to callous yourself. That’s your individual responsibility to the football team and when you’re not out there, guess what? That doesn’t happen.”
GM Ryan Poles has already shown he is more than willing to move on from mistakes. Trading Chase Claypool less than a season after acquiring him should tell you that. Cutting Davis would only net the Bears $600,000 in cap space, but that wouldn’t be the point. It’d free up a roster spot for somebody else who can actually help the team win rather than constantly wasting their resources on the training room table. Undoubtedly, the team is likely questioning his mental and physical toughness behind closed doors.
Fans certainly are. They’ve already grown tired of him. Nate Davis wasn’t even that good when he did play last year. He struggled with inconsistency. If that is who he is, then what’s the point of continuing this farce any longer? Thanks to their trade for Ryan Bates, the Bears have an experienced right guard on the roster. It might not be the perfect solution, but at least Bates acts like he cares. Eberflus sent Davis a message. Either he heeds it and works hard to stay on the field or he’ll soon find himself unemployed.
