Akiem Hicks is probably THE leader of the Chicago Bears. Most players look to him first when it comes to who the main voice is in the locker room. It’s not hard to understand why. The man is highly intelligent, thoughtful, and a great football player. He’s also not afraid to be vocal about his feelings. That was on full display during his first meeting with the Bears media since the end of last season.

Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint. Hicks talked about the recent team meeting where players had a chance to talk about the George Floyd killing. He admitted he was skeptical about it, feeling it was little more than the Bears trying to control the message. He was blown away by how open and honest it was. A true “healing” moment for the locker room.

With police brutality being the central focus of the spreading protests across the country, Hicks brought up Colin Kaepernick. The former quarterback protested this exact thing years ago. Sadly that decision cost him his career as NFL teams haven’t even come close to signing him since he left San Francisco in 2017.

Hicks, in hindsight, wishes the Bears had more courage to give him a chance back then. Especially given the alternative they were stuck with.

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Akiem Hicks reflected on Colin Kaepernick's protests, saying many NFL players now wish they would've shown their support at the time.

"It's unfortunate that young man had to sacrifice his career to bring attention and light to it," Hicks said.

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) June 3, 2020

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Akiem Hicks says it's clear to him that Colin Kaepernick lost his career because of kneeing then drops a bomb in the middle of the conversation: "We signed Mike Glennon."

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) June 3, 2020

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Unsurprisingly, no backtrack from Akiem Hicks: "You heard that, huh? Yeah, I said that. It was a feeling."

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) June 3, 2020

https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Chicago-Bears-quarterback-Mike-Glennon-botches-snap-Green-Bay-Packers-recover-1.mp4

Akiem Hicks is right to wonder if things might’ve been different

Everybody knows the story by now. The Bears were looking for a veteran quarterback in 2017. Somebody who could act as a bridge for Mitch Trubisky whom GM Ryan Pace was planning to draft. They ended up going with Mike Glennon, a longtime backup from Tampa Bay. That decision lasted all of four games in which he looked mostly awful. Trubisky replaced him by the fifth game and he never saw the field again.

Would things have been different if Kaepernick had been the QB. While not a superstar, he was certainly more proven than Glennon. He’d been to a Super Bowl and won a lot of big games. It’s not hard to imagine him at least lasting longer than Glennon did. Sadly, the Bears didn’t have the courage to give him the opportunity. They fell in line with the rest of the league.

Hicks wishes it could’ve been different.