The Bears are giving Kaden Davis another crack at the NFL, elevating the veteran wide receiver from the practice squad ahead of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Davis, 27, has bounced around multiple organizations and has also spent time with several NFL, USFL and UFL teams. He’s mostly been a practice-squad presence, and across 2024 and 2025 he has appeared in just two NFL games, both with the Cleveland Browns.
Chicago’s move comes with receiver depth still worth monitoring. The Bears have a young, talented room, but it hasn’t been a smooth summer. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are expected to headline the group, yet both have dealt with injuries during training camp.
Odunze is listed as questionable for Sunday, though he has said publicly that he expects to play. Still, there’s some lingering concern after the foot injury that cost him five games in 2025.
Burden is healthy and expected to be ready for game day, but he hasn’t been fully clean this offseason, either. He didn’t log a snap in any preseason game, even when the starters were on the field, before returning to practice.
That uncertainty helps explain why Chicago brought Davis up, even if this looks like a depth call more than a move with major snap expectations attached to it.
Kalif Raymond brings the most experience in the receiver room, and his connection to Ben Johnson likely mattered too. The two were together in Detroit, where Johnson worked his way up as an offensive coordinator.
Zavion Thomas and Jahdae Walker are also expected to be on the field Sunday, which makes Davis’ elevation even more about insurance than role expansion. He’ll have a chance to make his first real mark in a Bears uniform, but the opportunities figure to be limited.
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Bears Just Sent A Telling Signal About Tyson Bagent For Carolina
The Bears added quarterback Miller Moss to the practice squad and moved quickly to elevate him along with Kaden Davis, a sign that their quarterback room is being handled with Carolina in mind. Chicago has not ruled Tyson Bagent out, and he did travel with the team, but the roster maneuver points to a real possibility that the Bears are planning as if they may need another option available on game day.
How the quarterback group shakes out will hinge on whether Bagent gets clearance before kickoff. If he is able to dress, the Bears can keep the rest of the plan relatively straightforward, with Case Keenum likely stepping into the emergency role. If not, the elevation of Moss suddenly becomes a much more meaningful part of Chicagos Week 1 prep than a simple depth move. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Pass Rush Is Already Drawing The Wrong Kind Of Attention
The Bears opened the season with a wild 96-point shootout against the Panthers, a game that rewrote a long-standing league scoring record and still ended with Chicago on top. DAndre Swift and Kyle Monangai both topped 100 rushing yards, giving the offense plenty to celebrate, but the night also produced a defensive moment that immediately traveled far beyond the stadium.
On one blitz against Bryce Young, a Bears defender appeared to ease up before getting to the Panthers quarterback, and the clip spread quickly online for all the wrong reasons. For a team trying to set a tone on defense, it was the kind of attention that can linger long after a win, especially when the pass rush is supposed to be one of the calling cards of the group. [Read more 🡒]
Kaden Davis May Have Just Changed His Bears Role For Good
The Bears opener in Carolina gave Kaden Davis a chance to flash the kind of value that can keep a fringe roster player around long after camp breaks. Elevated from the practice squad for Week 1, the wide receiver was in the right place when Panthers returner Jimmy Horn Jr. muffed a punt, and Davis pounced on it to set up a Bears field goal in the 59-37 win.
It was the sort of small but telling moment that can matter a lot for a player trying to carve out a role. Davis already had made a good impression in training camp and preseason, and his special teams work is now part of the conversation about how Chicago may use him going forward, especially if he keeps showing he can help in more than one phase of the game. [Read more 🡒]