Chicago Bears: Predicting the final 53-man roster for 2021

Chicago Bears Defensive Line

DE: Akiem Hicks

HIcks is in the final year of his contract. He’s angling for a new one and stated his desire to finish his career in Chicago. Let’s see how the season goes. He’ll turn 32 this season and has dealt with injuries the last couple of seasons. It would be nice to have him return, but the Bears will have huge salary cap space and may find a better option elsewhere.

DT: Eddie Goldman

Goldman opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID and the Bears’ rush defense suffered as a result. He took a lot of attention away from other players and that was severely underrated. He’s back now and that bodes well for the defense.

DE: Bilal Nichols

Bilal did an admirable job filling in for Goldman last season. He had an adjustment to make at first but he did it and played much better as the season progressed. Now, he’ll take the experience he got from playing in the middle. He had a career season with 5.0 sacks and 40 tackles. Let’s see if his experience there helps him when he returns to the end.

Backups: Khyiris Tonga, Mario Edwards Jr., Angelo Blackson