The Chicago Bears have signed free agent running back Mike Davis.
The Chicago Bears future at running back has come a little bit more into focus.
With plenty of questions surround the Chicago Bears future at running back and what the plans are for Jordan Howard and even their sub players (Benny Cunningham and Taquan Mizzell), there were plenty of rumors.
Could they sign LeVeon Bell? Would Mark Ingram or Tevin Coleman be a better idea? Well, the first piece of the puzzle has come into focus.
Mike Davis and the #Bears agree to a 2-year deal worth $6M, source said. It has a max value of $7M. https://t.co/1zpIUBIyyt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2019
Mike Davis has been a bit of a journeyman running back. Davis spent the first two seasons of his career on the San Francisco 49ers and bouncing on and off their practice squad and spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Davis has shown flashes of talent but has also struggled at times.
The Bears certainly aren’t signing Mike Davis to be their no-doubt-about-it feature back. Davis was signed to be more of the role of Benny Cunningham or Taquan Mizzell. Whether the Bears plan to keep Jordan Howard, sign a bigger name free agent or draft a running back in April, Davis doesn’t limit them from any of those items.
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Davis is a new name in the running back room but not their definitive move to fix a running game that never fit Matt Nagy’s scheme in 2018.
In Davis’ first two seasons, he averaged a meager 2.0 yards per carry on 54 total attempts. Not surprisingly the 49ers let him go. His third season wasn’t good but was far better. With Seattle he averaged 3.5 yards per carry in 2017 but in 2018 he had a very nice season.
Last year, Davis averaged 4.6 yards on 112 carries and even caught 34 passes out of the backfield. Davis’ total yards from scrimmage exceeded 700.
The Bears feel that the arrow is pointing up for Davis. He has steadily improved each season he’s been in the league and he will enter 2019 on arguably the best offense on his career. Could Davis be the dark horse in this running back class?
If anyone can turn him into something special, it’s Matt Nagy.