Chicago Bears: 3 veterans who can still be cut for cap space
57. . DE. Chicago Bears. Akiem Hicks. 96. player
Akiem Hicks has been a great player for the Chicago Bears in his time there.
The Chicago Bears have gotten a lot out of Akiem Hicks. He has been one of their most important players during the Ryan Pace era. His ability to create a pass rush is as good as anyone in the league. With Khalil Mack there with him, they have formed one of the best duos in the National Football League. Losing him would be a big loss but it might be worth it, depending on how things work out for some other folks on the team.
2020 was an okay season for him. The entire Bears defense looked tired for a good portion of the year and they largely were because they were on the field too much. If they keep him and Justin Fields turns around the offense, don’t be surprised if he returns to the Akiem Hicks that he was just a few years ago. In 2020, he had 3.5 sacks and 30 tackles in 15 games.
If the Bears did end up cutting Hicks, they will need some other players to step up in his place. The aforementioned Khalil Mack is an elite pass rusher but we all know he can be even better. He deals with incredible resistance every game as offensive lines zone in on him but so does other elite pass rushers. Robert Quinn is also someone who needs to be worlds better than he was in 2020.