Chicago Bears fans have been hit with one piece of brutal news after another lately. Missing out on Russell Wilson. Missing out on Kenny Golladay. Having to cut Kyle Fuller. Then the added news that Akiem Hicks was granted permission to seek a trade. It was growing more and more difficult to find any sense of optimism about this team. Thankfully a little ray of sunshine slipped through the gloom.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the team has reversed direction. It appears Hicks will not be traded or released but will in fact be staying in Chicago. This is great news for the Bears defense who had no way to replace him. He together with a returning Eddie Goldman and ascending Bilal Nichols gives them as strong a defensive line as there is in the league. Not to mention one less headache to worry about with Fuller gone.
Sources who said Akiem Hicks was available are now indicating he's likely back with the #Bears. They have a major hole to fill at CB but would keep the front 7 of the defense in place. Certainly has been a fluid start to the new league year for the team.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 20, 2021
If nothing else, this lessens the damage.
Hicks will still be 32-years old this year. He isn’t in his prime anymore but he’s still a force up front. Somebody who can stop the run and deliver a powerful interior pass rush. If the Bears can successfully fortify their cornerback position and find another safety? They have a chance to remain strong on defense for another season. Signing Desmond Trufant was a small step in the right direction.
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GM Ryan Pace probably made the right call. He still hasn’t been able to make any noticeable upgrades to the offense. Andy Dalton might be a minor one at quarterback but otherwise, everything is the same. Germain Ifedi returns at right tackle. Allen Robinson is back at wide receiver. The lineup is unchanged. One has to think the Bears are aiming to make some changes there. Keeping Hicks around allows them to worry less about the defense.
Keeping Akiem Hicks actually isn’t a huge surprise
Part of it was the desire to have a good player and locker room leader stick around. However, it was also the nature of the market. If Hicks left, the Bears would have nobody available to replace him. Not only is the free agent class of defensive linemen weak, so is the upcoming draft. There were no avenues to filling that void if they let him walk. Thus a sensible decision was made to keep him around.
As to how they’re going to manage his cap hit? That is another concern. The Bears still need cap space. Not just to pursue other free agents but also to find enough room for their upcoming draft class. Akiem Hicks still counts $12 million against the books right now. Did he and the team find a way to adjust that? Maybe with an extension of some kind? That is hard to say. If not, then expect other moves to follow.
Either way, the Bears didn’t get as much worse as feared.
When healthy, Hicks is almost unblockable. If Desai does bring back the Fangio system, one in which he thrived? Then 2021 could be a nice swan song for this incarnation of the Bears defense. If Pace somehow manages to improve the offense as well? So much the better. It at least prevents several fans from jumping off cliffs.