In a season full of rough first halves, Bears’ running back Mike Davis might be a sneaky-good candidate for the dubious honor of having the worst. He signed a two-year, $6 million contract with Chicago this offseason under the impression that his versatility could find him snaps in Matt Nagy’s system the way it didn’t in Seattle with Pete Carroll.
That hasn’t been the case. Through his first seven games in Chicago, Davis has rushed 11 times for 25 yards. He’s been a non-factor in the pass game (7 receptions for 22 yards), too. Matt Nagy told reporters a few weeks back that Davis wasn’t doing anything wrong, and that his limited snap count was more a matter of what the team was trying to do on offense. Being in a running back room with Tarik Cohen and David Montgomery hasn’t helped things, either.
“I’ve just got to stay positive, and stay upbeat,” Davis said on Tuesday afternoon. “Don’t let anything take my joy. Just come in here, have fun, and work. I love my teammates around me, so I refuse to be that teammate that’s bringing negative vibes.”
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He mentioned that he feels his role right now, amidst the Bears’ 4-game losing streak, is keeping everyone upbeat. Davis did admit, however, that he’s been surprised at his lack of any real role in the offense. It’s nothing he hasn’t dealt with before – the running back’s time with the Seahawks ended, despite career-best numbers, because he fell behind Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny on the depth chart.
“I’ve been in a dark place before when I was in Seattle when I first started,” he said. “I always told myself I’d never go back to that place again, so it’s just something where I always keep a smile on my face, I always keep myself upbeat. No matter the situation.
“It was just basically mental. Me loving the game and not being able to play and help my teammates, really. It really put me in a dark place to where I really hated a lot of things. But that’s what you have family for – to help you get out of those tough situations.”
Davis’ name has come up more often this week because the Bears will have to, at some point before Saturday, make a decision about his future on the roster. If they cut him before this weekend’s deadline, they’d receive a 4th-round compensatory pick.
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Couple Davis’ underwhelming stats with the Bears’ underwhelming amount of draft capital, and it’s easy to see why the Bears might make that tough decision. Job uncertainty is nothing new to Davis, who’s been on three teams in five years. If anything, his time in Seattle provided him a blueprint for how to deal with weeks like these.
“I feel like thinking of something like that is negative,” he added.” I really don’t care about outside voices or whatever comes with it. All I can do is come show up every day, be a great teammate, and be ready to go no matter what happens.”
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