Chicago Bears: 5 Players returning from injuries who need to stay healthy

1. Akiem Hicks, Defensive End

While Trevathan makes the defense play better, Akiem Hicks is the heart and soul of the defense. With him on the field, he makes life easier for a number of players. He makes opposing offenses have to double team him, thus opening up space for other players around him.

For example, take super linebacker Khalil Mack. He finished 2019 with just 8.5 sacks, the lowest total since his rookie season. Here’s the thing, however. In the first four games in which Hicks played, Mack recorded 4.5 sacks. After Hicks went down, Mack recorded just four sacks. Hicks missed 11 games. He tried to come back and play in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers but it was clear he still wasn’t healthy enough to play.

Now the Bears have Robert Quinn now playing the other outside linebacker. Quinn is a former All-Pro player, giving the Bears two elite pass rushers. WIth Hicks wreaking havoc, offenses have to decide which player receives their attention. They won’t be able to double all three so someone will usually be in a one-on-one and easily beat it.

HIcks also helps his teammates along the line. If running backs run his way, he can usually make them go back inside, where Eddie Goldman lies in wait. When teams go away from Hicks, Bilal Nichols does a pretty good job of making stops there as well.

With Hicks helping his linemates and helping the linebackers, things get hectic for opposing quarterbacks. They are under a lot of pressure, and that pressure causes them to make mistakes. That helps the Bears’ secondary. They’ll end up with many more chances to cause turnovers. We saw how that worked in 2018 with their 47 turnovers and 50 sacks. With Quinn replacing Floyd, those numbers could rise.

The Chicago Bears need Hicks on the field all season doing his thing. He’s shown in his four seasons in Chicago how valuable he is. With the Bears, he’s recorded 173 tackles (39 tackles for loss), 24 sacks, seven passes defended, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He does it all and helps his teammates do it all as well.