6 Bears Defenders on Thin Ice After Eric Washington Hiring

The Chicago Bears have been praised for their move to bring in Eric Washington, a long-time NFL coach who will take over the defensive coordinator role. This will be his second tenure in The Windy City after coaching for Lovie Smith from 2008-2010.

Now at 54 years of age, he will get his first shot at a coordinator position. While he's not expected to call plays due to the presence of Eberflus, his role will be of great importance as he looks to get the most out of this roster.

That means these six players will be getting some extra attention which puts them on thin ice.

6. Andrew Billings, Nose Tackle

A fourth-round pick from Baylor, Andrew Billings has put together an interesting career. He started with the Cincinnati Bengals back in 2016 and played well enough to become a trusted run-stuffing nose tackle.

He was then signed by the Cleveland Browns in 2020 but he opted out due to Covid. This pushed his one-year deal into 2021 but he was ineffective and released after just six games and one tackle. He was unable to catch on with Miami or Kansas City after that.

He rebounded nicely though with 39 tackles in Las Vegas in 2022 and was signed to Chicago on a two-year deal worth $8.5 million last year. Ironically, he saw his production dip in the one area he was supposed to stand out — run defense.

Washington will surely be on him to improve but with the Bears adding Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens in the second and third rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, it might not be long before Billings is surpassed.