MINNEAPOLIS — The Bears will close out the 2021 season without two players everyone wanted to see play.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields will miss the finale against the Vikings after testing positive for the coronavirus Thursday, and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks is out with an ankle injury.
Hicks, 32, is in the final year of his contract and almost certainly will leave as a free agent this offseason. He wanted an extension with the Bears heading into the season, but those negotiations went nowhere.
“I’ll do everything in my power to [finish my career with the Bears],” he said in September. “That’s what I want. That’s what I feel at the end of the day is right for me. I started a piece of my career here and it grew and it blossomed, and I’ve just had so many joy-filled moments as a Chicago Bear. I can’t see myself in another jersey.”
He appeared to gradually accept the unlikelihood of returning as the season went on and spoke last month about how sad he was to think that his time with the Bears was ending.
With the Bears sitting 6-10, here are their inactives against the Vikings:
RB Ryan Nall
OT Elijah Wilkinson
OL Lachavious Simmons
DT Akiem Hicks
DB Duke Shelley
