Bears signing veteran DE Marcus Davenport

The Bears will see if they can turn back the clock with defensive end Marcus Davenport and squeeze some production out of the former first-round draft pick.

The Bears are expected to sign the ninth-year veteran, who came in for a physical Sunday, to a one-year contract. CBS Sports first reported the news.

The move will reunite Davenport with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who was in the same role with the New Orleans Saints when they drafted Davenport with the No. 14 pick in 2018 out of Texas-San Antonio.

The Bears will be the third NFC North team in four years to employ Davenport, who turns 30 on Sept. 4, and health has been an issue. He started for the Detroit Lions at the beginning of last season but suffered a chest injury in the Week 2 win over the Bears that sent him to injured reserve. He wound up playing eight games with one sack and three quarterback hits.

Davenport’s 2024 season in Detroit was limited to two games by a triceps injury. He had two sacks in four games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, when a high-ankle sprain forced him to IR for much of the season.

Davenport had 10½ sacks in his first two seasons playing for Allen and turned in a career-best nine sacks in 2021. But in 29 games over the last four seasons, he has only four sacks and 19 QB hits.

It’s a no-risk move for Bears general manager Ryan Poles, but unless the 6-foot-6, 285-pound Davenport can recapture the kind of production he had five years ago, the newcomer is a long shot to add a jolt to the pass rush.

The Bears’ top three defensive ends right now are Montez Sweat, Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo, and they could be searching for a fourth option with 2025 second-round pick Shemar Turner expected to remain on the physically unable to perform list into the regular season as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last October.

Daniel Hardy is expected to make the roster as a special teams stalwart and occasional defensive end. Jamree Kromah had six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in Saturday’s 34-10 preseason victory over the Cleveland Browns, the kind of outing that gives him a little momentum for a roster push. Kromah spent much of the last two seasons on the practice squad.