I feel like the cartoon dog sipping coffee while the room around me is engulfed in flames.
Boy, do I hope that isn’t just coffee.
Shortly after reports surfaced that cornerback Kyle Fuller was being released, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tacks on more scoopage with a source informing him that the Bears are giving defensive lineman Akiem Hicks permission to seek a trade.
COOL.
Hicks will be a free agent at the end of this upcoming season, is set to earn $10.5 million, and reportedly wants “a substantial raise” in the event he is traded. Considering how money isn’t exactly flowing these days, I’m not sure how Hicks will get new paper. But I suppose it never hurts to ask.
Meanwhile, the Bears are on the cusp of losing two solid defenders. Fuller and Hicks were Pro Bowlers on the renowned 2018 defense. But beyond that, they were locker room leaders and the types of players teammates rallied around on game day. There’s a combination of skill and leadership that looks to be on its way out of Halas Hall. And that’s not great for this team or its fans.
As for the players, well, they’re not having a good time either:
https://twitter.com/BoJack39/status/1372697378080362503
Stop using the “CAP” space as an excuse!!!!
— cordarrelle patterson (@ceeflashpee84) March 18, 2021
We’ll see if the Bears can (1) grant Hicks’ request, (2) find a trade partner, or (3) end up cutting him in a move that would create $10.5 million in cap space at the cost of a $1.5 million dead-money hit.