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Where Bears Go Next After Admitting to Surprise Over Edge's Retirement

Coach Ben Johnson revealed what the Bears thought when they heard about Marcus Davenport's retirement and now they must consider another option.
Gene Chamberlain|
GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson no doubt were taken by surprise with Marcus Davenport's retirement.
GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson no doubt were taken by surprise with Marcus Davenport's retirement. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

You'll rarely get an admission of being surprised from a team when some personnel move they've made fizzles or completely backfires.

It's not something Bears coach Ben Johnson was reluctant to discuss when it came to defensive lineman Marcus Davenport and his sudden retirement after Sunday's win.

“Yeah, it was a little bit out of left field," Johnson said on Wednesday. "We really liked how he was attacking, getting into football shape. Thought he did a great job there those first few weeks of taking advantage of padded practices and we thought he looked good."

The former Lions, Vikings and Saints defensive end had signed after camp started and needed time to "ramp up' to playing condition, partly because of past injuries. However, he wasn't ready when final cuts came so the Bears had him on the practice squad. On Sunday, he finally played, had an assist on a tackle for 12 plays and then retired.

"Our offensive lineman were talking about, man, he's got heavy hands and he's strong and that's kind of been my experience with him in the past and certainly (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's) as well," Johnson said. "We were excited to see where it would go and, we dipped our toe in the water there last week.

"But if you're not full steam ahead then you can't cheat your teammates or cheat the game. It's just not worth it and so he just felt like it was time to hang it up. I’m grateful he was honest and we’ll be going on to the next guy, we’ll be fine.”

The next guy could be Shemar Turner, who had a torn ACL last year after 75 total plays. The Bears said they liked what they saw then but it's difficult to say this with much conviction based so small of a sample size.

Coming off the PUP list?

It seems unlikely Turner would return this week, based on what Johnson said when asked about the players on the physically unable to perform list being activated. Kyler Gordon, Turner and linebacker Noah Sewell are the players coming back from injuries who are on this list. Turner's window open on Sept. 23, so he still has a week to go before the decision is due.

The Bears also could simply rely on Jamree Kromah, their preseason impact edge rusher who is on the roster but hasn't been active. James Lynch has played both defensive end and tackle and in some games quite effectively, but he was inactive Sunday. He'd most likely be active again.

“We'll let this thing play out," he said. "That's kind of been the thought throughout, is let's utilize the time that we have and we're given and we'll make a decision at the end of the week if one of those three are ready to go, so we'll see. We'll see how it works out.

"We've got a lot of things in flux right now with the roster and who's going to be active here this week and so we'll make those decisions as we go.”

This situation at end after Davenport's retirement is just another reason they should be considered a potential trade partner for any team trying to shop quality defensive end help. The banter about Khalil Mack is an interesting idea, although he's not exactly going to come at a low cost, both monetarily and in terms of trade compensation. Mack does fit their concept for an end, though. He's close to 270 pounds and plays the run well besides getting good pass-rush pressure at age 35.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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