Feb. 11, 2026, 3:04 p.m. CT
With Super Bowl LX out of the way now, there are only a few notable dates on the NFL schedule between now and the start of free agency. The league signing period will begin on March 11, with the negotiation deadline kicking off on March 9, so teams will be able to make deals, but they will not become official until the latter date.
The New Orleans Saints have quite a few big names hitting the market this spring, notably two veteran leaders of the franchise, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis. While the hope would be that both return, it seems as though the latter may have more of a desire to see his value on the market, likely knowing this is one of the last chances he will have at a large-scale contract.
In a recent predictive article from Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman, he ranked Davis as the No. 60 free agent in this class, and he also had the veteran leaving the Saints to join his former coach, Dennis Allen, with the Chicago Bears.
Davis, still going at 37, managed to set a career high with 143 tackles for the Saints in 2025. He’s at an age where linebackers rarely exist, let alone play as actively as he does, and he’s hinted he’ll not only play again but test the free-agent waters. Davis deserves to finish with a contender — 227 career regular-season games, but only five in the playoffs, and two wins at that. He’s had six straight seasons with at least 1,000 defensive snaps, a model of durability at a demanding position.
While he doesn’t quite mention why the Bears specifically would be in contention, the assumption of pairing back up with Allen, who worked with Davis for much of his New Orleans career, is certainly one that can be made. The notion of working with a contender also makes sense, as the Saints are still likely two years away from being a playoff contender again, and Chicago is a strong team.
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Pairing Davis up with Tremaine Edmunds and Amen Ogbongbemiga in the starting lineup would make for a scary trio, and it would also allow him to join former Saints teammates D’Marco Jackson and Nephi Sewell, provided the former signs a new deal.
While it would be extremely unfortunate for Davis to leave the Saints, it is understandable both from a competition and finance standpoint, and if he were to leave for the Bears, they would have a chance to play against him in 2026, as the two sides do have a matchup scheduled at Soldier Field.