Exhale, because the Chicago Bears appear to have dodged a serious bullet regarding Akiem Hicks’ knee injury.
The latest from Head Coach Matt Nagy:
Nagy says he does not believe Hicks injury is serious: "I really believe it's more of just a wear and tear type of thing."
😅
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 24, 2019
Hicks left Monday’s win against Washington early because of a knee injury and there was a noticeable limp in Hicks’ walk, which immediately raised eyebrows and certain levels of concern.
Hicks was listed as doubtful to return shortly after being removed from the game, but never stepped back onto the FedExField turf. And to be fair, why would he have needed to do so? The Bears had that game well in hand, as they held on to a two-score lead, and should have had no issue keeping Washington’s offense at bay, even with Hicks on the sidelines.
Expect the Bears to monitor Hicks’ progress this week more closely than usual because the team has a shorter-than-usual prep week after playing on Monday Night Football.
Chicago’s next game is Sunday against Minnesota with a 3:25 PM kickoff at Soldier Field. I’m unsure if having one fewer prep day would be enough to keep Hicks out of the lineup if the injury is not serious and is more of a “wear and tear type of thing” as Nagy alluded to on Tuesday. But because the Bears have played it cautiously when dealing with key players who have injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hicks sat out a few practices to rest up his knee issue.