The Chicago Bears are tasked with finishing the regular season strong to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, while some former players are just looking to cash in on other opportunities around the league.
Ex-Bear Zacch Pickens was waived by Chicago back in August and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. He spent the entire season on the taxi squad but got elevated to the 53-man roster on Wednesday. With the chance to make his 2025 debut in Kansas City, Pickens would be wise not to squander this opportunity.
He may have a three-game sample size to impress the coaching staff and potentially lock down a roster spot for the 2026 season, but if not, his chances of landing elsewhere get that much slimmer.
Ex-Bear Zacch Pickens Must Take Advantage of Chance with Chiefs
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke with the media this week and expressed that young players could receive more playing time as a means of evaluation, as multiple veteran players are dealing with injuries.
Considering that Kansas City has been eliminated from the playoffs and Patrick Mahomes is gone with a torn ACL/LCL, the Chiefs will use the final three games to see who they plan on bringing back next year or who showed flashes of being an intriguing piece.
Chiefs DTs Chris Jones (hamstring) and Derrick Nnadi (illness) have popped up on the injury report. While they could still suit up, there's a chance that the Chiefs elect not to rush things with either player and could ultimately scale back their playing time, especially Jones.
Those unaccounted-for reps would mean that Pickens could get some playing time. He was a third-round pick by Chicago back in 2023, but he never materialized into a quality player for them. In 26 career games in the Windy City, he only started in three games for them. He finished with 39 total tackles, four QB hits, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. Pickens was unable to make any meaningful impact, which led to the Bears moving on during the summer.
Ben Johnson and his staff came in and decided he wasn't one of their guys. And based on what he put on film and did throughout the summer, it wasn't good enough.
Zacch Pickens 2023 PFF Grades | Zacch Pickens 2024 PFF Grades |
|---|---|
Overall Grade: 54.9 (84th among 131 graded defensive linemen) | Overall Grade: 45.5 |
Pass-Rush Grade: 62.9 (73rd among 131 graded defensive linemen) | Pass-Rush Grade: 57.6 |
Run-Defense Grade: 44.1 (106th among 131 graded defensive linemen) | Run-Defense Grade: 42.1 |
Even though things didn't seem to click in Chicago, a change of scenery could have done it for him. Being with a new team and staff could have given him a jolt, and the fact that he was on the practice squad for the entire year means he must have been doing things right in practice and in meeting rooms.
It'll be interesting to see if he gets any playing time. This could be his last chance to showcase something, and if it doesn't, things around the league will only get more difficult.