It was always very unlikely that Akiem Hicks would return to the Chicago Bears after the 2021 season and his contract expiring. With a new regime in Chicago, it was clear they wanted to start fresh and try to rebuild from the ground up.
Losing Hicks isn’t a huge deal for a team that isn’t ready to compete for a title in 2022 and would be ahead of schedule if they were a contender in 2023. Hicks would go on to sign with Tampa Bay, landing with a contender in the NFC who has Tom Brady as their quarterback and are two years removed from a title already.
Hicks met with the Buccaneers’ media for the first time since the signing on Tuesday and had an interesting quote about his time in Chicago and playing with Brady and Drew Brees. Here is what he said via Rick Stroud:
“When I came into the league, I had Drew Brees and Tom Brady as my first two quarterbacks. And then I went to Chicago. It wasn’t Drew Brees and Tom Brady. I feel spoiled to have somebody on the other side or that bank that can deliver all the time…”
Ouch.
He does have a point though. Hicks did get to play with Brees and then one year with Brady to start his career before signing in Chicago. He was a backbone to the Bears defense in 2018 which won the NFC North before losing in the NFC Wild Card round to Philadelphia. The Bears would get back to the playoffs two years later but would once again lose in the Wild Card round to New Orleans.
During Hicks’ time in Chicago, the Bears never had stability at quarterback.
Mitch Trubisky struggled, they brought in Nick Foles to compete, and eventually signed Andy Dalton making him the starter before drafting Justin Fields. It was always the defense doing their part while the offense just simply struggled.
I have a feeling Hicks wont have that problem in Tampa Bay.
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