NFL Rumors: Bears ‘frustrated’ with Caleb Williams’ OL Nate Davis ‘not practicing’ | News, scores, highlights, stats & rumors

While Caleb Williams has faced security issues in the first two games, Chicago Bears right guard Nate Davis has been in the spotlight for his lack of participation in practice.

In the last episode of the Shovel City podcast (starts 42:00), The Athletic’s Adam Hoge noted that the Bears are “frustrated” that Davis “isn’t practicing,” to the point that the team had hoped to replace him with free-agent tight end Ryan Bates before he suffered a shoulder injury:

“Since training camp started, it’s been a disaster. Nate Davis is probably not a big national story, but locally it’s been a big story the last two years. He doesn’t like to practice. The Bears are frustrated that he’s not practicing. And I think he was going to lose that starting right guard position to Ryan Bates, but Ryan Bates got injured. And last week, actually, Ryan Bates broke Nate Davis out of a rotation in the opener, but then Ryan Bates got injured again this week in practice and he’s on IR. So, Nate Davis is there by default. They don’t have anybody else to play, even though I don’t think they want him to play. So, it’s probably the stuff that the interior of the offensive line is probably the least sexy to talk about in football, but right now it’s the Bears’ biggest problem.”

Williams was pressured during the Bears’ Week 2 loss to the Houston Texans, with seven tackles and 23 pressures on 48 dropbacks, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Pro Football Focus (h/t Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago) credited Davis with allowing four pressures and one sack. Darnell Wright, who plays tackle next to Davis on the right side of the line, allowed five pressures and two sacks.

Quinten Krzysko of Bears on Tap noted that Davis played “excellently” in the first half against the Texans, but that in the second half he “made mental mistakes, tripped over his teammates and struggled to maintain his anchor.”

The Bears’ offense was virtually nonexistent in the second half. Four of their eight drives ended in three plays or less (three punts, one interception). Two other drives lasted five plays (one punt, one turnover on downs). The one sustained drive had given them 61 yards on 12 plays, ending with a 54-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.

Davis, who signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Bears as a free agent in March 2023, was asked during training camp in August about fans’ reactions to his workout habits.

“I’m just focused on the building, the players and our coaching staff and whatever they ask me to do,” Davis told reporters on Aug. 15. He was not practicing at the time due to an undisclosed injury.

Davis was off the injury report for the first two weeks of the regular season. He played just 18 snaps in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans, but was on the field for every offensive snap against the Texans.

The Bears have scored just one offensive touchdown in their first two games. Williams is 37-of-66 (56.1 percent) for 267 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He has been sacked nine times, tying Gardner Minshew II for the most in the NFL in a two-week period.