Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks’ return to the starting lineup wasn’t without its struggles.
There were several times throughout Sunday’s 21-13 loss to the Packers where Hicks was in visible pain from his recovering dislocated elbow. But he stuck it out through the game — and he made his presence known even as he was playing with essentially one arm.
Hicks expects to finish this season, even despite the obvious discomfort after re-aggravating his elbow injury. That’s just the competitor in him. But if Hicks is good to go, Bears coach Matt Nagy insists that Hicks will play.
“We want to continue to just keep going forward with him like we’ve been,” Nagy said Monday. “I don’t look at [being out of playoff contention] as changing anything with that.”
With the Bears eliminated from playoff contention, there’s nothing left to play for. You’d expect the Bears to shelve a cornerstone member of their defense to get him healthy for 2020. But that might necessarily be the case with Hicks.
“We’ve gotta talk through all that, and I think that’s the biggest thing — making sure that we’re all on the same page,” Nagy said. “But I know Akiem’s gonna want to be out there playing and helping our defense as much as he can.”
