Nate Davis returns to practice finally |
For the most part, things have been going according to plans, if not better, when you look at how the Chicago Bears have started their season. You have a defense continuing to build off of how they finished last season and an offense that looks miles better than any point over the past two seasons.
Both of those elements will play a massive role in determining the Bears' success this season, but another key element that has been overlooked is this team's overall health. Throughout training camp, there will be injuries, and most of them are often overlooked or not talked about. The Bears suffered a rash of early training camp injuries, and one injury stood out in particular: OL Nate Davis's. Davis was brought to the Bears to provide the offensive line with a veteran presence and was expected to be the starting RG this season. However, the only good availability is being available, and Davis wasn't available for nearly two weeks as he was dealing with an injury. That forced Matt Eberflus to put him on notice. He basically said Davis needs to return to the field if he wants an opportunity to start on this team. Injuries happen, and there is nothing you can do about them, but Davis now has a chance to earn back and keep his starting spot as he has officially returned to the field. His arrival is a massive win for the Bears as it puts together the expected starting lineup for Caleb Williams come week one, which will go a long way in determining how he develops the rest of the summer. While this was a non-padded practice, it was still nice to see Davis participate in the 11-on-11 drills with the starters after missing time with some sort of Strain. During these drills, the Bears' starting offensive line consisted of Braxton Jones at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton at Center, Davis at right guard, and Darnell Wright at left tackle, which is the expected unit come week one. That is unless Ryan Bates gets healthy enough to be available, as he was expected to be the Center prior to getting hurt himself. While getting Davis back in the mix is just what the Bears were hoping for, don't expect him to see game action this week, as he still needs to get back into game shape. With only three practices this week, Davis will get his work in, but given how many days he had off, he may not be up to speed enough to start this week against Cincinnati. Ideal, no, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the Bears want him healthy and ready to go by week one rather than now. Even though he got back to participating in his team drills this week, you still have the recovery period to watch, as Davis needs to prove he is fully healed from his injury. It's worth noting that although Davis was back on the field this week, he only participated in part of the practice, leading many to believe he still isn't quite 100%. The next step in the healing process is for him to string a few days of solid practices together, go through the recovery process, and prove there is no pain where he can get after it again. Until that point happens, don't expect much talk about any game action, as he has plenty of work to do to be ready. If the Bears want Williams to reach his potential and be the guy they hope he can be, keeping him upright will be a massive factor in that. The Bears need their offensive line to be as healthy as possible at the start of the season, and they won't take any unnecessary chances that they don't have to.
