Divorce between Bears, Akiem Hicks looks like ‘the unfortunate reality’

Akiem Hicks never wants to miss a Bears vs. Packers game. That much was apparent in Week 6 when Hicks, playing on an injured groin, pulled up after sacking Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the second half.

Hicks had clearly re-aggravated his groin. He was quite literally playing every snap he could until his body gave out. In 2019, he played through an ailing elbow in a December matchup with Green Bay.

Now, after missing three games with an ankle injury, Hicks appears ready to return in time for Sunday’s matchup with the Packers.

“I take rivalry games very seriously, right?” Hicks said. “I think that back to your earliest memories, playing ball in high school and stuff like that, rivalry games are a big deal and you should take it as that when you’re going out there to compete.”

Hicks has appeared in seven games this season, missing time with both the groin and ankle injuries. He has three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and six quarterback hits in those seven games. He last saw the field on Nov. 8 against Pittsburgh. He hurt his ankle in that game and said the swelling ballooned up on the flight home.

Hicks described sitting out the last several weeks as “somewhat misery.” He hasn’t been on the field as much as he would like this season. It doesn’t bode well for his future with the Bears, either. Hicks is in the final year of his contract and there’s little indication the team will bring him back in 2022.

Hicks is making $10.5 million this season. The Bears don’t seem likely to pay a 32-year-old defensive tackle that type of money next season when they have so many other needs.

Speaking with the media on Friday, Hicks acknowledged that these could be his final five weeks as a member of the Bears, a team he has played for since 2016.

“I think that’s the unfortunate reality,” Hicks said. “The unfortunate reality of our business sometimes is that no matter what you do, no matter what situation you put yourself in, all good things come to an end. I could throw every cliché I want at it, but that is the circumstance we find ourselves in.”

That doesn’t sound like a man who is ready to return to the negotiating table. That sounds like a player who is ready to find himself a new team after the season. It’s an unfortunate situation for a player who has been the heart and soul of the Bears for half a decade.

[ Bears DT Akiem Hicks is pushing for a contract extension ]

Hicks and agent Drew Rosenhaus tried to negotiate an extension in the summer, but a deal was never struck. When a deal couldn’t be reached, Hicks had to put all those thoughts in the back of his mind, he said.

He believes he has three or four seasons left in him. That’s a clear indication that he isn’t interested in any one-year deals.

“I know how to play this game at a high level,” Hicks said. “No matter what happens, I believe that I can play this game for another three, four years and hopefully I end up in a place that will want me to be myself and play the game at a high level like I can.”

For the best years of his career, that has been Chicago. It might not be in 2022.

Hicks has never thought of sitting out the final weeks of the season. “Never been one of those people,” he said. This could be his final Bears-Packers rivalry game. Since coming to the Bears in 2016, Hicks and the Bears are 1-10 against Green Bay.

A win Sunday would be a fitting end for a player who relishes this rivalry game.

“A coach told me once that you can’t play well against your division opponents, what good are you to the team?” Hicks said. “And I take that to heart.”