The biggest free agency move for the Chicago Bears thus far came when they signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton earlier this week.
It wasn’t exactly the splash fans were hoping for, especially at the quarterback position. But, this is where we’re at with the Bears and general manager Ryan Pace. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on-air that Dalton was their top target, which should give fans reason to believe Pace has learned absolutely nothing.
Are the Bears really stuck in the same old story? Pace has whiffed on three quarterbacks, and this could end up being a fourth.
Now, after the Dalton signing, there are reports from Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune that the Bears could be looking to part ways with cornerback Kyle Fuller either via trade or cut. Fuller’s cap hit is $20 million for 2021. With Dalton signing a deal worth $10 million, it would be a shame to have to trade Fuller’s cap number to make more room after signing Dalton.
Not only could Fuller be on his way out, but defensive cornerstone and fan favorite Akiem Hicks may be as well.
The Chicago Bears’ stud defensive lineman might be on the NFL’s trade block.
Thursday morning on 670 The Score, Biggs was on and spoke about Hicks’ future. He specifically mentioned that he heard overnight about Hicks being on the trade block.
With this news, fans quickly jumped onto social media to do some more intel. One fan, in particular, found that Hicks had removed anything about him being a Chicago Bear on his Instagram profile. No longer does he say he’s part of the team — sometimes this is telling, sometimes it’s nothing.
We do not yet know if this will amount to anything, but with Hicks having injury concerns over the past couple of seasons, it does make a bit of sense that he could be traded.
Hicks is in the last year of his contract and the 31-year-old will count $12 million against the salary cap in 2021.
To add fuel to the fire, the Bears also signed former Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Angelo Blackson. The 28-year-old had a career-high eight quarterback hits for the Cardinals in 2020 and comes to Chicago on a 2-year deal.
Blackson plays the same spot as Hicks, which leads many to believe that Biggs’ report of Hicks being on the trade block is true. Pretty soon, we could see a Bears defense down both Hicks and Fuller, all to accommodate a few minor signings to go along with Pace’s top target, Andy Dalton.
Pace and the Bears look more as if they are throwing in the towel on 2021 and getting ready for a rebuild than they do attempting to compete this season. If Hicks goes, and the Bears do not do everything they can to draft a first-round quarterback, you can count this season as a lost cause.
