The Chicago Bears didn’t land two of the best pass rushers available in NFL free agency this summer, with Jadeveon Clowney (Houston Texans) and Von Miller (Dallas Cowboys) joining fellow contenders. However, some NFL news surfaced on Sunday that could be the first step towards an addition before Week 1.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Chicago hosted a visit with free-agent edge rusher Marcus Davenport on Sunday. It’s the first known visit for the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft since his contract with the Detroit Lions expired in January.
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Marcus Davenport stats (career): 71 quarterback hits, 28 tackles for loss, 25 sacks in 77 career regular-season games
Davenport, who turns 30 in September, represents quite a step down from Clowney and Miller in terms of potential impact. The 6-foot-6 defensive end has seen his NFL career derailed by injuries in recent years, appearing in 14 total games over the last three seasons with the Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
Back in 2024, Minnesota signed him to a one-year contract worth $13 million. He wound up appearing in just four games with the franchise, missing significant time with a high-ankle sprain. Detroit then signed him to a one-year contract ahead of the 2024 NFL season, but he suffered a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3.
Unfortunately for Davenport, the injury woes struck again in 2025. After signing another one-year contract with Detroit, with the hope of rebuilding his value as a starting edge defender opposite Aidan Hutchinson, he appeared in just two games before suffering a pectoral strain that landed him on injured reserve until Week 13. When he returned, Davenport failed to record a sack across 225 defensive snaps.
It is worth noting that signing with Chicago would reunite him with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. During their time together with the New Orleans Saints (2018-22), Davenport registered 60 quarterback hits with 25 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks with seven forced fumbles in 63 regular-season games. However, 16 quarterback hits and nine sacks came in 2021, leaving Davenport with 12.5 sacks and 44 quarterback hits in four of those five years.
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For now, the Bears coaching staff may just be trying to determine if Davenport is healthy and if he’s capable of returning to the caliber of pass-rusher that Allen had in 2021. Chicago is still in dire need of improving at edge rusher, coming off a season where it ranked 22nd in pressure rate (21.1 percent) and sack rate (6.2 percent) despite having the 11th-highest blitz rate (25.8 percent) in the NFL during the regular season.