Fans and media members alike have been calling on the Chicago Bears' decision-makers to add more talent and depth to the pass rush this offseason, but the addition of Marcus Davenport is an underwhelming response to those requests.
Chicago inked the injury-prone Davenport in mid-August, kept him on the expanded roster for 13 days, none of which he actually practiced, and then gave him the ax on roster cutdown day over the weekend.
However, the Bears brought Davenport back into the fold approximately 24 hours later by signing him, and several others, to their practice squad on Monday, August 31.
"The Bears have signed the following to their practice squad: RB Salvon Ahmed, OL Caden Barnett, TE Stephen Carlson, DE Marcus Davenport, WR Kaden Davis, OL Kyle Hergel, LB Wayne Matthews, WR Scotty Miller, DB Deantre Prince, WR J.P Richardson and DB Marlen Sewell," Chris Emma of The Score reported on X.
Marcus Davenport has been injured for three years, unproductive for five of past six seasons
Davenport, a former first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2018, will play the upcoming campaign at 30 years old and is the epitome of the NFL's sometimes nonsensical second-chance (and third-chance and fourth-chance) system with regards to players who line up at premium positions.
Over the past two seasons, both of which he spent with the Detroit Lions, Davenport has played in a total of 10 games and tallied just 1.5 sacks. The year prior, which he spent with the Minnesota Vikings, Davenport appeared in four contests and logged two sacks.
In fact, Davenport has played in more than 13 games just once in his eight-year professional career and tallied more than two sacks on only one occasion over the past five campaigns.
Davenport has been unable to practice for the Bears since arriving in Chicago, apparently as he attempts to get back into game shape, which is a little confusing because that's what most people regard as the point of practice.
That said, Davenport did not travel with the team to Nashville last week or take part in either joint practices or the preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans.
Chicago telegraphed that it was interested in bringing Davenport back to the practice squad, which Courtney Cronin of ESPN predicted the team would do.
But it is a little hard to understand the Bears' point of view when there are plenty of undrafted free agents and other young players without Davenport's laundry list of injury and performance problems who are looking for their shot in the NFL.
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