The Chicago Bears are finally making their move to secure another veteran edge rusher for Dennis Allen’s defense with about two weeks left in training camp.
According to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, the Bears are “expected” to sign former Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints veteran edge rusher Marcus Davenport to their 90-man roster after hosting the former first-round draft pick for an official visit on August 16.
“The #Bears are expected to sign veteran defensive lineman Marcus Davenport, sources tell @CBSSports,” Zenitz wrote Monday on X. “Former first-round pick with 43 career starts, 165 career tackles and 25 career sacks. [He] was a starter for the Lions last year.”
Davenport didn’t have the healthiest two-season run with the Lions, appearing in only 10 games with eight starts, but he played the best football of his career in New Orleans with Dennis Allen, who served as his defensive coordinator over his first five seasons. He tallied 21.5 sacks in five years with the Saints, including a career-high nine in 2021.
Now, the 29-year-old will reunite with Allen in Chicago and attempt to boost their pass-rush unit after the team finished second-to-last in pass-rush win rate (29%) in 2025.
Is Marcus Davenport a Lock to Make Bears’ 53-Man Roster?
The Bears will now drop another veteran edge rusher into the mix for their final few weeks of training camp, but just how good are Davenport’s odds to make the cut?
Davenport has more experience than most of the edge rushers on the Bears’ roster, but he has a dangerous injury history that could give Chicago pause when trimming their numbers down to the 53-man limit. Not only did he miss 24 combined games in his two seasons with the Lions, but he also sat out 13 games due to an injury in his lone season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023 and 19 games over his five years with the Saints.
The Bears also have reasonable commitments to four edge rushers on their roster.
Both Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo carry cap hits of more than $20 million into the 2026 season with few options available for offloading either one. The Bears also have Austin Booker and Shemar Turner — both recent draft picks — working to carve out roles for themselves amid high expectations, giving them four edges to work with.
Davenport could still fit into the mix as the fifth edge rusher, but it is far from promised that his arrival in Chicago will result in him making the Bears’ initial 53-man roster.
How Many Edge Rushers Will Bears Keep for 2026?
Davenport is a low-risk signing for the Bears who could potentially — with good health — find his way onto the 53-man roster and help out Allen’s defense in the 2026 season.
The Bears have a few other edge rushers vying for depth roles on their roster, though.
The first candidate for the No. 5 spot on the depth chart is Daniel Hardy, who signed a two-year, $4.97 million contract with the Bears after standing out on special teams over the past few seasons. The Bears don’t have much money tied up in him despite his new deal and could cut him if they choose, but his special teams value boosts his chances.
Bears practice-squad holdover Jamree Kromah also loudly stated his case for a roster spot in their preseason-opening win over the Cleveland Browns last weekend. Kromah notched six tackles and two sacks — including a strip-sack against Deshaun Watson that earned him a forced fumble and fumble recovery — in the 34-10 win over the Browns.
Kromah has a tougher hill to climb to make the roster over Davenport and Hardy, but he has time to make things more interesting if he continues shining in the preseason.
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