Less than a week into practice, the Bears are down a handful of players — including star defensive tackle Akiem Hicks.
Hicks was out Friday after suffering what coach Matt Nagy described as “a little bit” of a quad injury the day before. While he is expected back on the field soon, the Bears learned last season that any Hicks injury is worth monitoring.
He missed one game with a knee injury and 10 with a dislocated elbow last season, and the Bears’ pass rush waned without him. Because of his importance, and his mileage going into Year 10, Nagy will likely show extreme caution bringing Hicks back regardless of the team having just 10 practices remaining.
“We don’t want to make anything worse than what it is,” he said.
Hicks has 24 sacks, 173 tackles and five forced fumbles since joining the Bears in 2016.
They’re banking on him and outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn to form an elite pass rush. It could be the best in the NFL if all three are operating at full capacity, but the Bears have yet to get Quinn into 11-on-11 work. He was out the first four practices and is still “on his own program” to get into game shape, position coach Ted Monachino said this week.
Mack is full-go physically, but Nagy said the team is limiting his snaps to preserve him for the season.
