GM Ryan Poles had a certain profile when it came to players. He wanted good athletes who had a certain passion for playing football. That isn’t a bad thing. Most NFL greats have always exhibited those two qualities. Walter Payton, Brian Urlacher, Dan Hampton, Devin Hester, and so on. That was a good sign if the GM understood this key lesson. For the most part, Poles has stuck to it. Each of his highest draft choices over the past three years has exhibited an almost unhealthy obsession with football. So that begs the question. What the hell happened with Nate Davis?
It became clear early on that something was off about the veteran guard, whom the Bears signed to a lucrative three-year contract in 2023. Compared to other players, he seemed to carry himself with a lackadaisical air. While a tremendous athlete for his size, there were rumblings early that he had issues in Tennessee that weren’t mentioned much publicly. Sure enough, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Poles was openly warned by his own coaching staff that Davis was a walking red flag.
The Bears released Davis last month, a few days after what multiple sources said was a squabble with the coaching staff over his role for the Week 10 game against the New England Patriots. After practicing in full that entire week, Davis reported back tightness to the team medical staff on the morning of the game, was declared out and sent home on a day when offensive line depth was an issue.
That was the final straw for Davis, who had been known around the building for more than a year as an “always something” guy and a poor teammate. It didn’t help that Poles signed Davis despite in-house warnings from the coaching staff that he had a reputation for being apathetic and lacking the kind of football passion Poles normally gravitates toward.
Every time people talk about whether GM should keep his job, that decision is brought up. It is easily one of the worst free agent signings in franchise history. Davis lasted barely a year and a half, spending most of it “injured.” There were outright accusations of him trying to dodge practice. Whenever he did play, he was inconsistent at best. What makes this even more egregious is that Poles is a former offensive lineman. How could he have possibly messed that up so badly?
While Kevin Warren has insisted Poles is safe, some believe that isn’t entirely true. The Nate Davis fiasco and the Matt Eberflus disaster are still fresh in many’s minds. Not enough good has happened under this GM to justify him sticking around. Caleb Williams is on pace to be the second-most sacked quarterback in a single season ever. This report about Davis might be the most alarming of all because it signals Poles didn’t listen to good information when he had it.
