Bears Urged to Replace Nate Davis With 9-Time All-Pro Lineman
The Chicago Bears may be more or less stuck with the offensive line group they have now, but the unit figures to be the primary focus of the front office for the upcoming season.
Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked the Bears line as the 20th best in the NFL heading into Week 4, and that was before it surrendered another 3 sacks of rookie QB Caleb Williams to the Los Angeles Rams and lost Teven Jenkins mid-game to a bruised rib. Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported on Monday, September 30, that Jenkins is day-to-day with the injury.
The loss of Jenkins, easily the team’s best offensive lineman through four games, put the Bears in a place they didn’t want to be. Head coach Matt Eberflus likes offensive lineman Matt Pryor, which is why he benched former starting right guard Nate Davis and elevated Pryor to that position.
With Jenkins out, Pryor flipped to left side and Davis stepped back into the lineup on the right. However, Davis may not be long for Chicago. As such, Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department suggested Monday that the team pursue nine-time All-Pro Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin next offseason.
“On a related note, Chicago’s interior offensive line issues aren’t going away anytime soon and could get worse in the offseason seeing as [Coleman] Shelton, Pryor and Teven Jenkins are impending free agents. Also, Davis could be a salary-cap casualty since cutting him would save the club $9.5 million,” B/R wrote. “Don’t be surprised if Ryan Poles goes after one of the best guards on the open market in Martin. The future Hall of Famer might not have a long tenure in the Windy City, but he could help protect Caleb Williams and fill one of the team’s biggest needs.”
Martin has been a part of some of the league’s best offensive lines over his 11-year career, all of which he has spent in Dallas. He hit the NFL and was immediately elite, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie in 2014.
The former first-round pick out of Notre Dame remains at the top of his position despite soon turning 34 years old. He finished the each of the last three campaigns with Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors and has missed only 11 regular-season games over his entire professional tenure.
Martin wouldn’t come cheap. He is currently on a two-year deal worth nearly $37 million, which runs out of guaranteed money following this year. That said, the Bears project to have plenty of cap space and a massive need on the offensive line, which makes Martin a more than viable candidate for Chicago.
The Bears have yet to extend Jenkins, though letting him hit unrestricted free agency seems an unlikely move unless the team is overly concerned with the injury issues that have plagued the left guard.
