Matt Eberflus gives surprising update on competition at right guard

It sounds like the Chicago Bears have a competition for the starting right guard job after Nate Davis was forced to watch most of Tuesday’s practice as he continues to get his body ready to play.

Coach Matt Eberflus met with the media after practice and confirmed that starters who miss an extensive period with injuries open the door for competition. Ryan Bates, who was signed to compete at center, could now be a factor in the starting lineup at right guard.

“If a person’s out for an extended period of time and a player that’s in that position is playing very well, at a starter level, and doing a good job there, then you create the competition,” Eberflus said from Halas Hall. “You say, hey, there’s a competition. People say you can’t lose a job because of injury. I don’t think that’s true. I think if the guy that’s playing there gives our team a good look and a good benefit for him being in that position, then it’s a competition.”

Davis signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Bears last offseason with the expectation he’d hold down the right guard spot for the foreseeable future. An athletic run blocker who starred with the Tennessee Titans for the first four years of his career, Davis came to Chicago with a checkered injury history. He appeared in just 11 games in 2023 and hasn’t looked like a player the Bears can rely on as the 2024 season approaches.

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Bates, meanwhile, missed only two games in the last three years. GM Ryan Poles signed Bates to an offer sheet in 2022, but the Bills matched the four-year, $17 million contract. Now, two seasons later, he’s a Bear. And he might be a starter.

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I hate seeing guys lose a starting job because of an injury, but Davis is entering a territory where the Chicago Bears can’t build a consistent offensive line with him listed as the starter. If he’s in for two weeks, then misses a week or two with injury, then in for three, and out for four? The offense won’t be able to function at its highest level.

Competition usually brings the best out of players, and it sounds like the Chicago Bears have one brewing at right guard.